The Twin Guardians of Starling City
by The Lupine Sojourner
Summary: The Prince and Princess of Starling City. That's what they call my twin brother and I. I was the sensible one. One could never predict what Oliver was gonna do, however. I suppose the unpredictability is still there to those who don't know him, but we know each other better than anyone else ever will after Lian Yu. Features Olicity, Merlance (#OTP!) and OC/OC as main couples.
1. Lost and Found

**I JUST...REALLY WANTED TO WRITE THIS. I HAVE RECENTLY GOTTEN VERY OBSESSED WITH _ARROW_ , AND HERE'S THE FRUITS OF THAT LOVE. I HOPE YOU ENJOY. **

**GOD BLESS AND GOOD DAY!**

 **~ONE SEPTIC MARKIPLITE**

"Liv...Liv...there's a boat. Come on, Liv!" That had me awake faster than a splash of water would. I bolted up, grabbing the aikuchi needles **(AN ELONGATED NEELDE WEAPON I FOUND WHEN LOOKING AT NINJA WEAPONS)** and tonfa, leaping up and bolting after Ollie in mere miliseconds. Sure enough, I noted as I slid over a boulder and sprinted toward the station from which we'd light our beacon, there was a boat, hardly two miles offshore. It would certainly see that bonfire Ollie prepared to light with a practiced hand. There was no need to tell him the consequences, should he miss. He knew, but pulled the bow back with a calm, steady hand, confidence in his eyes. He would not, nor did he, miss. The fire flared to life beautifully. After all, it wasn't like Oliver Queen missed a target anymore. Not after everything we'd been through on this island aptly named after Hell.

The ship came in hardly twenty minutes later. We were waiting. They, naturally, did not recognize us for the Prince and Princess of Starling City we had once been, but for the survivors of this hell-hole that needed tending to we currently were. I liked that. I really did. For once, I was grateful I was must another face to these men now leading us back toward their ship, telling us it'd be aright, that we'd be oLiv in the Mandarin language.

"Xiexe (thank you)" we replied. We took the proffered water, and ignored the constant question asked: who we were and what we were doing in a place such as this.

"Ta zai nali ni xiang yao qu de? (where is it you want to go?)" Ollie and I merely looked at each other. Then looked up at our saviours, slowly and in synch. I could tell that they were anxious and scared. Their hear rates were elevated and they shook ever so slightly. They swallowed, the sound echoing in my ears. Yes, they were scared out of their right minds, picking up two random people on an abandoned prison island named 'Lain Yu'. They were also curious, hence the myriad of questions. We smirked.

"Shi de yu. (Starling City)"

=#=#=#=#=

"Bad spot on neck." One of the sailors noted in heavily accented and broken English, referring to the ring of gray-ish skin that looks like veins sprouting up all over the needle mark in a few inch radius. I tensed. No one, Oliver aside, can know what that 'bad spot' was. No one. Before I could calm myself, the memories arose.

The feeling of my hair being pulled so hard it nearly all came out, my neck craning to a severely uncomfortable angle, the needle inching closer to my skin as Oliver begged him to stop.

My tormentor's cruel laughter as I cringed beneath him, knowing that, should I resist, the pain would probably be far worse, despite the man's gruesome description of what the serum was capable of. Needless to say, it was very unpleasant to listen to.

The harsh prick of the needle entering my skin and the fire that spread from the injection site that left me in agony. I barely heard Oliver's abject terror and horror, coming in whimpers and pleas for our torturer to stop, with screams for the man to stop, but he knew it was too late to change anything as I collapsed, in so much pain, all sound ceased coming from my mouth, which was opened in a silent scream of utter agony.

The torture of every of muscle in my body being forced into a constant tensed state, adrenaline only making it worse when added to whatever that yellow stuff in the needle was. The lactic acid worked all too well as a tertiary torture device, making it feel as though I were literally being consumed by fire.

Sensory overload as whatever the FRICK they stuck me with went to work. The tiniest movement was deafening, and I'd yet to learn to filter it, focus on what I wanted, disregarding what I didn't.

It was so bad, it was as if my senses didn't work at all, confused and unable to process the bombardment of sounds, sights, tastes and smells cascading into my brain, giving me the worst migraine a human has ever to experience. It would take two days for my head to stop pounding fit to bursting open.

"-ke up!" Came a stern voice. For a second, I panicked. Was I back...there? Then...I remembered. Oliver. The boat. Of course. We were saved...

...we...were...saved...holy frick. We'd done it! "You all right?" Ollie asked. I was shaky, reliving the moment my life went to crap faster than a bat outta Hell. So, no, I was not 'all right'. But no need for my twin to worry when there wasn't anything he could do to help me. I offered a thin, weak smile.

"...As much as can be expected." Oliver nodded, then held out a refilled cup of water-all the sailors could offer- to me.

"This spilt everywhere when you went into that trance. Memory Lane?" I swallowed, nodding, unable to speak as those same memories echoed through my head again, each as vivid as if it were reoccuring. What a fricking nightmare that would be, eh?

I shook myself subtly. No need to panic. No way anything like that could happen to either of us again, right? Never again would Oliver and I be at the mercy of anyone who was bent on our destruction and misery. We would never be taken against our will to be tortured for information we didn't have, or tortured at all. We were ready, should they try again, however. Ollie and I were not the helpless people the lifeboat brought to the shore of Lian Yu. We'd been forced to grow up, make ourselves unrecognizable in order to survive. It'd be great to see the fruits of this struggle. If we can just get back to Starling City... there's a good chance that we'd see those fruits. After all, the only thing separating us from our home is a simple boat ride, right?

=#=#=#=#=

...Is it bad that I kinda almost maybe want a bit more of an exciting boat ride back home? I suppose, after five years practically living off adrenaline and fresh water with a side of whatever the frick we could dig up or hunt down to eat, I wanted adventure. Come back with a bang, you know? The departure of the Queen's Gambit was almost unheard of until we were actually setting sail. Now...we'd be all over the news. Lost at sea for five years...and now we would suddenly come home on a random fishing ship, up from the grave again. We could finally get to reunite with the people who mean the most to us, as well as upholding the vow we had made with our father.

"Survive this!" Dad had begged, just before the gunshot. He gave his life that we could live on and cleanse the city of every single parasite that drains it of its once majestic glamour. Then he'd appeared again to remind us of his pleas aboard the life raft. "Right my wrongs!" The words exhoed in my head, over and over. We intended to make the most of Dad's sacrifice. We owed it to the memory of the father Dad had been to us, the loving husband he had been to Mom. Mom...Thea...Tommy...Laurel...and Chris. We would see them soon enough. If only we'd been found sooner, before Lian Yu, then they wouldn't have to worry, but that thought is always thrown out quickly. If we'd never gone through Lian Yu, we would never be able, maybe not even willing, to honor Dad's last wish. Righting our father's wrongs would not be an easy task. We would make a lot of enemies. We might even drive those we love away, but we HAD to make Dad proud. He shot himself and killed the only other survivor just so we'd have a better chance of surviving. We had to honor that. We HAD to. And we would. Currently, we sat on the trunks we'd dragged to the beach after lighting the beacon. The ones we got from the couple that had saved our lives, taught us everything we now know. We owed our lives to them. We would have died in probably the worst possible on that island, never fulfilling Dad's dying wish, if not for them. Then...it all struck me. We could watch Lian Yu fade into the sea behind us! We weren't on it! I turned, elated beyond belief, leaning on the railing of the ship.

"Ollie! We're off the island! We're going home!" The sailors looked at us oddly. I didn't care, laughing hysterically, leaning on a laughing Oliver. He hugged me tightly to him. We...were...going home!

"You...married?" One sailor asked. We laughed even harder.

"Oh, no. He's my twin brother. We were...lost for a while." I said, giving these sailors an incredibly abridged version of things. They needn't know what happened on Lian Yu. In fact, nobody had to know. If they did know...they would no longer see us as the people they'd lost. They'd see us as tortured souls, as people who needed to be constantly cared for.

We didn't need constant care. We just needed to be with them again, hear their voices, see their faces, hear the stories from the time we missed. Catch up, but not be constantly monitored.

Never would anyone need to baby us. We weren't that kind of trauma victim. We were the kind that comes out stronger, better, eager to start making a difference. The care and attention everyone would think we need would be as bad a torture as Lian Yu ever was. I shook myself and listened intently to Oliver telling me how we'd actually get back to Starling City.

=#=#=#=#=

It was a fairly simple process to get home; we'd arrange for tickets for our plane ride home and that would be that. We still knew how to access our bank accounts. We got on and off planes in a blur for me, I was so excited and nervous. The worst nerves came when I thought of my husband, Chris. How would he respond to my arrival? Would there be an awkward introduction to a new woman in his life that I'd have to pretend not to want to murder? I prayed not because I really could murder someone now, after Lian Yu, and I might have to to cure Starling City of the plague that grips it. But enough of that kinda talk, Olivia! Geez! We're almost home. And boy, had I missed the smoky, heavy smog around our city. It sounds crazy, but I did. It was so good to be home again, in Starling City after five years at sea. I was so lost in thought, I nearly forgot that my luggage (meaning my trunk, which several airport workers and random passengers had to be told not to help me with) was passing me by. I hurriedly scooped it up.

"You almost missed your luggage there, Liv." Oliver notes with a chuckle, adjusting his trunk to an easier carrying position. "You alright?"

"Guess I'm just still in shock. Lian Yu... Nothing but a memory. We're not there anymore." Ollie nods, then frowns. "Ollie?" I asked with concern.

Oliver narrows his eyes, his muscles tensing in preparation for...something. "Why are those men coming right for us?" I hadn't noticed. The two men were behind me, lost in the crazy amount of people in the airport. They came right up to us.

"We're your escort." Was the only explanation they offered. Oliver and I hesitantly complied, only really relaxing when we found out that Mom had had them sent to pick us up. I watched the city as it passed by, noting the differences as they appeared. I then noted that we were heading for a building I had never really needed to go into before; the hospital. I felt my heart rate increase slightly. Beside me, Oliver's did, as well. Not good.

"Why are we going to the hospital?" Oliver and I asked in synch. We'd avoided needing to go there by not doing anything incredibly reckless. The thought of anyone finding out that we were left scarred and battered by our time on Lian Yu was not a pleasant one. We had survived and were home. We didn't need a health screening.

"All due respect, but your mother insisted you two get looked over." Oliver and I scoffed.

"We don't need to go to the hospital." Oliver explained in a tone that should have negated further discussion. "We're perfectly healthy." He added. Unfortunately, it didn't quite convince the stony-faced men driving us, as they merely looked back to the road.

"We're still taking you there, sir. Mrs. Queen was very insistent. She'll pick you up when the doctors are through." I swallowed, mentally rehearsing the story of my accidentally hitting my neck on a rock or a stump or a root. Anything but the truth of my injection. That would not go over well. I prayed they wouldn't get too curious at the mysterious substance in my bloodstream. If they even did a blood screening. They probably would. Great. Fricking terrific.

"Great." Ollie and I grumble, sinking into our seats with resignation. Here we go.

=#=#=#=#=

"Pardon me, but...what did you do to your neck?" I groaned under my breath. I'd known the doctor would have asked about the neck, sooner or later. It seemed, the longer the check over went on, with the blood samples (I nearly brained the doctor, but managed to contain it to a small hiss as the needle entered my skin. Let's just say...I officially hate needles) and the X-rays I really didn't want, the more tense the good doctor became until the question spilled out. He bounced slightly on his feet, awaiting some answer to his question, and I blinked, very briefly wondering what he was doing here, but then remember. Right. What do I tell him?

"Oh. Right. Uh...tr-tree root." I mutter. Guess that's the one I'll pick. "I fell down a hill, slammed it pretty good, I guess." The man frowned.

"Please, ms. Queen. That mark looks like an injection site."

I frowned. "Small root."

"Please, ms. Queen." He repeated, then sighed, looking at a chart on a clipboard. "You have an unidentified instance in your blood and a suspicious looking spot on your neck. How did you think this could go unnoticed?" I felt panic rise slightly. I swallowed.

"Look...its nothing. I hit my neck, the wound might have soured a little or something, but it really is nothing." The doctor didn't look convinced, but stropped pressing me. A male nurse came in and whispered something in the doctor's ear.

"The tox screen failed to identify that...whatever it is in her blood." He said. If I hadn't been given the serum, I'd never be able to hear. And I was oLiv with them never knowing what was in my blood, but I had another hurdle to leap. I felt a keen need to use the shower. After asking around a little, I was left in the bathroom with a pair of scrub pants and a green three quarter sleeve shirt with a sweetheart neckline. How they found my approximate size was...not too unexpected. I do suppose there are nurses that have my average build. I got into the shower and started massaging my head with my shampooed fingers, dazed. All those previous times I'd done this, in the rain, in a river, anywhere and any time I could on the island...it never felt like this. This...the feeling of the shampoo in my hair after five years...oh, man...nothing compares to this. My hair felt clean for the first time in five years. The conditioner was equally impressive. Soap...was the icing on the cake. I spent a good five minutes scrubbing off the thick layer of dirt and grime all over me. Another ten was used shaving my legs and pits within an inch of their lives. This...felt...amazing. No other word for it. I reluctantly got out after a solid half an hour and let Ollie have a turn. He only spent fifteen minutes, probably because he didn't have the list of shower duties I did. He came out with his hair a mess and a sheepish grin on his face. He had shaven his beard. I kinda liked the beard, but the scruff left was just as cute. He held up an electric razor. I laughed. We'd talked about the first thing we'd do when we got home on the plane. First thing Oliver said was that he wanted to get his hair buzzed off. I said I wanted to refresh my half-buzz I'd had before the island made it impossible to maintain and I gave up on trying.

He held out the razor, awaiting my answer. "You do me, I do you?" I smiled.

"Sure, Oliver." He sat on a small chair and I circled behind him, plugging in the razor as I went. He needed a big buzz after five years. It took hardly five minutes. And that's just because the razor was very good. _Very_ good. There was a _lot_ of matted hair to cut through. But this baby managed beautifully. He was true to his word, buzzing my head. It felt right, but looking in the mirror when we were done...we were unrecognizable, strangers in our eyes. I couldn't get rid of the image, the one of me watching my brother buzz half my head. It was surreal. He was buzzing my head because we had made it. We had survived that hell hole, and now we _could_ buzz each other's heads and we could see our families again, and help them overcome the wounds we had given them by stepping onto that boat. Yet, I was nervous. Thea had never been the most stable girl to begin with, and now that she believed she had lost her farther and twin siblings...who knew what trouble she'd gotten up to. I just hoped she hadn't served jail time. That would be rough for her. I hadn't been to jail myself, but I'd heard stories...

Yeah...I was nervous. A knock at the door to the room came and a young male nurse poked his head in.

"Your mother is on her way." he told us. We thanked him and he left without further comment. This was it. The moment we're reunited with lost family. I felt distinctly nervous as we waited in our hospital room.

How would Mom handle seeing us again, without Dads there, as well, laughing and kissing Mom. There should be a reunion between the two. There should be whispered confessions of undying love and devotion shared between my parents.

But there wouldn't be. Never again would Mom be able to look at Dad's kind, loving smile.

It's somehow really hitting home for me now, of all times. I suppose I just...had to focus on surviving and all that while on the island, constantly watching my back and having to go from one task to another, essentially, to survive. And now...there's no need. I can just relax, not worrying about anything. Man...not sure I know how anymore. Ugh.


	2. HauntedS01E01 Kick-Off

**AS PAYMENT FOR THE LATENESS, I GIVE YOU AN EXTRA LONG CHAPTER TO READ! YAY! ANYWAY, PLEASE ENJOY, AS ALWAYS!**

 **GOD BLESS AND GOOD DAY!**

 **~ONE SEPTIC MARKIPLITE**

"20% of their bodies are covered in scar tissue, with second degree burns on his back and arms. X-rays show at least ten fractures that never properly healed. On Oliver. Olivia has only a few less. And...and Olivia has some unidentified...something in her blood." I acted deaf to the doctor and mom's conversation, but I could hear every word as if they were mere feet away and there were no door between them and us. I sighed, standing beside Oliver. We hadn't said much, preferring to show support and love with looks and smiles and gestures like Ollie wrapping his arm around me right now. Our mother was hearing everything that was wrong with us, looking at us watching the city we loved, and her heart rate spiked slightly in trepidation as she turned to the doctor.

"Have they said anything about what happened?" She asked. The doctor sighed.

"No. They've barely said anything." He sighed again. "Moira, I'd like you to prepare yourself. The twins you lost...might not be the ones they found." In part, he's true. But we are largely the same basic people. The island and what we endured there had stripped us of what we had faked and allowed ourselves to believe we were, revealing the core personalities in each of us.

"what's the doctor saying?" Oliver asked. I sighed.

"That we have unset fractures, 20% scar tissue, and second degree burns." Oliver nodded.

"And?"

"Well...that we've changed." I replied.

"We have." He replied, drawing me toward him slightly. "But it's not all bad. I'd like to think we're better people now." I nodded.

"Oh, I agree. But they can't know about our mission and everything that happened to us on the lsland." Ollie shook his head.

"No. They can't."

"I am bringing Chris in, however. Or...I'll offer. I think he'll take it." Oliver sighed. We'd been over this. And agreed on all these points.

"I agree. You should. Like I've said every time we have this conversation." I popped my neck as the doctor and Mom finished their conversation. She reached for the handle.

"Here we go." I mumbled with only slight nervousness. The door opened and Mom's slow footsteps drew nearer. She was as nervous as we were. We stayed where we were for a moment, dazed and struck with the thought that we were meeting Mom and she was here and she was only feet away and she was REAL. We had tears in our eyes that threatened to spill out.

"Oliver? Olivia?" We finally turned. There she was, as if no time had passed and we weren't the survivors of a deserted, Hellish island. But there were tears in Mom's eyes as well. For a moment, all we could do was LOOK at her. Then, slowly, as if I were in a trance, I stepped toward my mother. And wrapped my arms around her.

"Mom!" I cried, the few tears sliding down my cheeks. Mom shushed me, stroking my hair.

"Mom." Oliver whispered behind me. I reluctantly pulled away to let Oliver have a turn in Mom's arms. They faced each other and a single tear went down each person's cheeks. Then, Mom sniffled slightly.

"Oh, my beautiful twins." Was all Mom said. It was at that moment I knew this should be a group hug. That, and Ollie grabbed my arm and tugged me in. She kissed our foreheads and we stood there for a while before we slowly pulled away. "Let's get you home." She whispered, tears still pricking at her eyes. Ollie and I nodded.

"There's nothing we'd like more, Mom." I replied. Mom's arm wrapped around my shoulders and I hoped she would never let go. Ollie and I grabbed our trunks ("No, Mom, really, I got it.") and headed to the front desk to be checked out, the security escorts from before waiting with the car. We got in and the car headed towards Queen Manor, the one place I had nearly given up hope of ever seeing again.

=#=#=#=#=

The drive seemed fairly quick, passing in silence. Mom insisted on sitting between us and holding our hands. I didn't mind at all. Soon enough, we were pulling into the driveway. Another minute or two and we could see the manor in the short distance left of the driveway. Thirty seconds see ed like forever, but eventually we made it. I unbuckled, practically leaping out of the car, and eagerly awaiting the car trunk's opening so I could grab my trunk and get inside. One of the escorts tried reaching for my trunk. I snatched it up.

"I got it. Really." I said, smiling. As usual when I denied assistance with my luggage, he looked surprised that I insisted on carrying it myself. "Thanks, though."

"Just doing my job, really." I heard the man mutter under his breath. I rolled my eyes. I had startled him by thanking him (something we realized happened on a far too rare occasion.). The foyer was exactly like I pictured it in my mind. All those nights I had dreamt of walking across this foyer...and now I was actually walking across the carpet I used to wrestle Oliver on all the time, even when we were adults. Weird...I gave up this dream awhile ago...and it's suddenly not a dream now. It's come true. This house...it's been too long. Too long since I wrestled Ollie, or took in the smell of the wood and the dust and the food that is simmering on the stove in the kitchen. I turned to Oliver as Mom told us she hadn't done a thing to our Jack-and-Jill bedroom. That she hadn't had the heart. I knew that they wouldn't have changed anything. It's just the way my family operates. Somehow...I knew they wouldn't touch my bedroom.

"Ollie...old times?" He just looked at me and I would be on the floor a second later if not for a warning, thanks to the serum. As it was, I caught his swing at my legs, and used my momentum to tackle him to the ground.

"Hey! Olivia! Oliver!" Mom cried as we tussled and in general made a scene as we wrestled, trying not to do anything that would require explanation. I craned my neck (currently between Oliver's thighs) and caught only a glimpse of Mom as I struggled against Oliver. His legs were starting to squeeze _very_ hard and I knew I had to get out and soon before I was given a massive headache from lack of oxygen.

"We used to do this all the time, Mom. Remember? We're fine." I said, finally squeezing between his legs and straddling him. I tickled his collarbone (his one weakness) and he responded by bucking me off. I landed right at Mom's feet. Oliver helped me up. Then tackled me and tickled the nape of my neck (my weak spot) and I wriggled around. It was then that I noticed that someone was in the doorway from the living area. Someone male and worried. I stood up, expecting to see a suited security man, but found...Dad's best friend. Walter Steele. Huh. I noticed that he was watching Ollie and I with wary eyes. I smiled.

"Olivia. Oliver." He greeted. I ran up and gave him a brief hug.

"Hello, Walter." I replied, drawing away again so Mom could...whoa...his heart-rate just increased...and so did Mom's. They're looking at each other. I can feel a very slight increase of heat on each of them. Mom was smiling at Walter with a soft, caring look in her eyes. Walter was sending the look right back for a moment. Symptoms of attraction.

...Uh...what? Oliver, apparently, saw my look of brief surprise, and just...stared, confused, at Walter.

"It's very good to see the both of you."

"Yeah. Good to see you, too." I noted as silence reigned from Oliver. "Ollie, stop staring." I hissed, trying to keep it lower than audible for anyone but Oliver. He simply kept staring, which wasn't helping the awkwardness of the situation as Walter and Oliver shook hands.

"It's Walter. Walter Steele." Walter said, worry and fear in his gaze. Mom came over and rubbed Oliver's back encouragingly.

"You remember Walter, your father's friend from the company." She noted.

"Dad's best friend?" I added. Oliver said nothing, spying our Russian cook/sort-of-maid, Raisa. We'd asked her for cookies so many times when we were little. Most of the time, it was because mother had said we weren't allowed before dinner, but...we'd gone and asked for a cookie from that nice lady in the kitchen. I had to tell Ollie her name when we were teens, coming in for midnight snacks as I tried to get Oliver back on track with graduation from high school. It came as a shock when he actually did manage a passing grade in pretty much every class (except Algebra. Even I barely passed with an 'A'.). She smiled at us, and we returned it.

"It's good to see you, Raisa." Oliver greeted. I groaned under my breath. Why can't Oliver greet Walter, but not even hesitate when greeting our hired help turned friend?

"Welcome home, deti (children)." She said. I chuckled. Deti was her affectionate nickname for us. We'd always had a special place in her heart, as well as Thea for the most part, and I feel ashamed to say we may have taken advantage of that soft spot upon occasion.

"Spasibo, vtoraya mama. (Thank you, second mother)" I replied. Oliver sighed, grabbing my arm in a manner that may have seemed friendly to the others, but I knew meant he wanted me to take what he said seriously..

"Maybe not the time." He whispered. I blanched slightly, realization slamming into me, but it was too late. They now knew that I spoke Russian. And I had no alibi for that.

"I didn't know you could speak Russian." Mom noted. Walter merely looked at me with curiosity.

"Uh...it was a hobby. I wanted to challenge myself." I prayed it was good enough to dissuade suspicions.

"I'd say you succeeded. Russian is not easy language to learn." Raisa replied, taking one of each of our hands. I smiled and chuckled in agreement. After all, it _was_ hard. However, it was not as hard as living through the conditions under which I'd learned that language. There was not much for either my instructor or myself to do between torture sessions. It also kept my mind off worrying about what Oliver was going through. Raisa than cleared her throat, probably just remembering what she came in to say. "Mr. Merlyn and Mr. Graham phoned. They want to join you for dinner." I smiled. Tommy and Chris. Yes, please! Mom chuckled.

"Wonderful." Mom replied. Yes, it would be wonderful to see my husband and Tommy again. Then, I heard a bedroom door close and footsteps heard our way. That must be Thea. The last member of my family I had not seen yet.

"Oliver, Olivia, did you hear that?" Mom asked as we headed toward the stairs up to the second floor of the mansion. Thea appeared seconds later. The smile on her face was one of sheer relief and joy. We returned the smile eagerly.

"Hey, sis." Ollie and I said in synch as she came hurrying down the stairs, almost throwing herself into our arms in a group hug.

"I knew it! I knew you two were still alive!" She cried, her arms squeezing us and her breathing indicating that she was near tears. "I missed you so much." She whispered, burying her face in our shoulders. I swallowed, fighting tears, as well. This was surreal. But it was real, as well. After so long without any hope of getting off that island...we were home. We'd made it.

"You were with us the entire time." Oliver replied.

"Oh, yeah. You kept our sanity firmly in place." I added. Maybe shouldn't have, but I needed my family to know that they had a part in our survival. "All of you." We were careful not to be too enthusiastic in our hugging. After all, I'd proven on the island that it was easier for me to break bones than normal people. I certainly did not want to break any of my sister's bones.

=#=#=#=#=

"You're taking another shower?" I asked incredulously as Oliver picks out clothes and grabs a towel on his way into the bathroom.

"Yeah. I still feel dirty." He said. I shrugged and let him have his way. He knew as well as I did that it would take more than two showers in a row to make us feel clean. But I also knew that he probably just wanted a shower because it gave him time to process things on his own. Me? My processing time was when my brother was in the shower, staring blankly at a picture of Chris, Oliver and I on the day of Chris and I's second anniversary, almost exactly a month before we got onto the _Queen's Gambit_. I was getting a piggy-back ride on Chris' back, had the biggest smile on my face (we all did), and we all were in front of a bar where we'd dance the night away and sorely regret it in the morning.

I couldn't remember a better time. That night, everything was fine. I'd gone to work the next morning at the Library, with a headache, sure, no idea that in a month or more, I'd be starting a journey through Hell, with nothing but a tiny print-out of this very picture to keep me sane...

"Hello?" Came a young male voice I had never heard before. I turned and saw a young boy, around ten years old. He had sandy hair kept to a neat length, almost a buzz cut. He leaned against the doorway, his _Marvel_ logo shirt fairly baggy and his cargo pants almost falling down his hips. I smiled. The pants nearly swallowed his feet entirely. He must be wearing Ollie's old clothes.

"Hi."

"You were out of it, lady. I was calling a few times." I sighed.

"Lot on my mind." I said, shrugging. "I, uh, I'm Olivia Queen." The boy chuckled.

"Yeah. I know. I'm Sean. Sean Elliot." _Ah_ , I thought. _An Irish name. I can hear the accent now._ I smiled and stood, offering my hand. We shook.

"Lovely to meet you. My brother is...actually, he just got out. So...let's go somewhere else. I'm a lady, and it'd be weird to see my brother in nothing but a towel." I explained, but it was only half-true. When we bathed in the river as best we could, we got used to seeing each other in as little clothing as we could get away with. That, and Oliver was acting weird right now. I needed to give him a bit of space. I happened to glance in the mirror as we left. I was shocked at what I saw. A normal, healthy-enough looking twenty-something woman. Nothing like the survivor I'd seen at the hospital. I was a stranger in my own eyes, a shell of the flamboyant woman I'd once been. I was far more somber now, the things I'd seen and done the past five years haunting me, making me grow up in ways that I hadn't known I needed to grow up in. Nothing like the smiling boy beside me. Sean was innocent, and had no idea what Oliver and I had been through, what we'd had to do to survive. I prayed he would never find out. He should remain childlike and pure for a while yet. We headed down to the main living area, and I simply laid down on the couch. Sean sat in the small portion left and turned the TV on. Turns out, _Spongebob_ was still running and it was currently airing. Sean told me he loved this show, and that Thea had once showed him an episode and he'd loved it ever since. I smiled as I sat up, letting Sean have more than one cushion's space. At least Thea wasn't all gone. I hope she hadn't changed much, but I knew, even though it turns out at least Oliver and I were still alive, grief changed people. I wondered how grieving had changed my sister.

"In case you were wondering, I was adopted by, uh, Mr. Steele and Mrs. Queen about a year after the sinking of the _Queen's Gambit_." Sean mused. I looked at him. "I saw you looking at me weird. Figured you were just trying to work out what I was doing here."

"Ah." I replied. "You know me too well."

"Nah, it's just that I am usually a quick read on people." He sassed. I rolled my eyes. I was too focused on the conversation I was having with Sean to realize that there was a man behind me. As such, I was justifiably startled by the arms that circled my shoulders from behind. I leapt up, tearing out of the restraining arms, whirling around and regretted the fist I had raised as I saw who it was. Christopher John Graham.

"Chris!" I cried, throwing myself into his arms, hugging him as tightly as I dared. "I'm sorry! You startled me!" He laughed, squeezing me back.

"Man, have you grown." He joked. "Usually, you'd lean into my embrace." He said in an overly dramatic tone. I leaned back, not letting go of my husband.

"Yeah, well...islands do that to you." Was my only explanation that (hopefully) wouldn't raise uncomfortable questions. The man in my arms could tell I didn't want to explain further in front of the child who was watching our every move. Which also ruled out my temptation to make out with the man I'd only talked to in my dreams for five years. I perched myself (not letting go of my husband, mind you) on the back of the couch, which Sean immediately stretched out on. My legs wrapped around my man's hips and my hands went to his shaggy red-ish, highlighted hair. I heard Sean turn back to the TV, picking up on the cue that Chris and I wanted to be unobserved for a moment, which I took to kiss Chris. He took me out into the foyer for increased privacy, where his fingers curled in my hair. When we broke apart, I was panting slightly. This...was even better than dreams of doing this. It'd been too long. "I'm sorry." I said. "I was so scared that you...had...moved on and forgotten me. It was irrational, I know, but...I was gone for _five years_ , you know? You thought I was dead, and I guess I was just preparing for the worst case scenario." I rambled. He merely smiled, tears in his eyes.

"Olive...I could never move on from someone like you. I just...had a feeling...that maybe...maybe you were alive."

"Well, you weren't wrong." I replied, chuckling.

"I can see that." Chris said, laughing and we kissed again. "Shall we go somewhere else?" I blanched. This was it. I had to tell him. Right now. And so, while I wanted nothing more than to succumb to my husband's thinly veiled seduction...I needed to get him alone so I could _talk_ , not...uh...yeah...

"I think we need to talk." Chris raised a brow.

"Not what I had in mind after five years." I groaned. I really _needed_ to talk, but I _wanted_ to reunite properly with my husband.

"I know. That's later, Hun, but...we need to talk." He read my look and let me get down from his waist. Something I did reluctantly. I led him up to my bedroom, sighing heavily as I sat on the edge of my bed, the love of my life looking down at me confusedly. I swallowed, fighting a desire to talk later, reunite _now_ , and decided to just bite the bullet. I pulled my shirt off, revealing all my scars and burn marks. I swallowed in trepidation as Chris just looked at me. "This is what we need to talk about. I just...please hear me out." He nodded, eyes never leaving the scars riddling my torso now. I licked my lips and launched into the tale, grizzly and horrid though it usually was. While I spoke, Chris merely looked at me in bewilderment, shock, and abject horror at what I described. When I told him about my neck, he gasped.

"They meant to kill you?!" I nodded.

"After they'd gotten the information they thought we had out of me. I was supposed to be in excruciating agony, and I was for the most part, but I couldn't speak through it. They tried Oliver, but he wouldn't budge, thankfully. In the end, it was their downfall. They handed me a gift-wrapped advantage against them, disguised as an effective killing and torture device. My head pounded under the enhanced senses for two days, and every movement I heard made it worse. Every _sound_ added to the pain. Eventually, I started trying to get through it, and it slowly dissipated. But for those two days, I prayed for _anything_ that could take away the pain in my ears and everywhere. That's how bad the sensory overload was, and I know I'm scaring you. Your heart-rate is increasing the longer I talk and I only hear your heart because of the fricking serum and I hate it! I hate that I'm now some kinda...kinda freak!" I almost screamed, but had just enough composure to refrain from being too loud. Chris was immediately hugging me.

"Olive! Olive, listen to me! You are _not_ a freak! Not to me! To me, you are my wife who just got back from Lian Yu and is just as beautiful as ever. You are not a freak _or_ a monster!" I gulped. Chris didn't understand.

"Yes, I am! That island made me into a freak! And that's not the worst! I've murdered people!" Chris merely sighed.

"Okay." He then smirked. "'But zey were all bad'." I blinked, the reference taking a second to register, then I scoffed.

"You did _not_." I shook my head at my husband's dorkiness. That was probably the funniest Arnold Schwarzenegger movie I had ever seen, and also one of the dirtier ones, language being used flippantly throughout it. And my husband was using a reference to it to make me feel better. Sad to say...it sort of worked.

"Had to. Hey, look at me. I _love_ you! Now...c'mere." We hugged and collapsed against the bed, kissing passionately. And, finally, we succumbed to our _need_ of each other after five years apart. "I needed that." Chris said afterward, as we lay on the bed together, the sheets barely covering us, our combined heat being enough to keep us comfortable.

"As did I, my love." I replied, tracing idle circles on my husband's bare chest. "Badly." I then chuckled.

"But remember, we do have dinner soon."

"Ah, yes. Dinner. I'll leave you to get freshened up." I knew he had to go, and I let him get dressed in silence, yet I didn't want him to leave, so I gave him a good, long kiss before he left as a compromise. "See you in a minute." He promised

"Or less." I replied, and he was gone. I sighed and hurriedly pulled a floral peasant blouse over a teal tank top and grabbed a pair of dark jeggings with a few small artful rips along the legs, with roses patterned into the material. I decided to simply wear socks, since it wasn't like I was going out on the town tonight. I came out of my room to be hugged by two pairs of arms. I found Oliver and Chris grinning down at me when we ended the embrace. I laughed. "Hey, boys. Ready for dinner?"

"Definitely." Oliver replied, exhaling slowly.

"Absolutely." Chris added, kissing the my fringe. I leaned into the kiss. It'd been far too long since I'd felt like this. This was relaxing, being with family, acting as if there wasn't a five year time period where everyone thought we were dead. Apparently, relaxing was like riding a bike; you can't just up and forget how to do it. I felt at ease as I made my way downstairs, my hand in Chris'. Everything was out in the open between Chris and I...except Oliver and I's mission to save our city. I'd break _that_ news later tonight. I'd refrained because...seeing that haunted, horrified expression on my husband's face...I hadn't had the heart to add more misery onto the pile. Chris' hand gripped mine reassuringly as we walked toward the dining room. Then, overhead, there was a clap of thunder. I gasped, memories unintentionally clawing their way to the surface, even after five years. How had I not registered the rain before now?

=#=#=#=#=

 _I'd never considered myself totally scared of thunderstorms. It's just when they're above a yacht I'm currently (stupidly) aboard that they instilled an element of fear in me. How Ollie had managed to get me to come on the_ Gambit _was still a mystery. But he had, and now I getting slightly worried. This storm is pretty bad. I wonder if maybe we'd capsize, but the thought is banished. It's a pretty big boat. But still...fear grips me tightly as I watch the patterns of the storm on a screen. Dad, standing beside me, groans. A crew member came hurrying in from facing the storm._

" _Storm's a Category 2." He reported worriedly. I gulped._

" _What's that mean?" I asked._

" _It's pretty bad." Dad replied, pulling me close. "But it'll be fine. You'll see."_

" _The Captain's recommending we turn back." The man added. Dad sighed. I swallowed. Maybe that's the best plan._

" _All right. Inform the crew." Oliver appears in the hall. I groan. He and I shouldn't be on this yacht. We technically stuck on at the last minute, and we shouldn't have done it. I should be home with Chris. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe 'why not?'. Maybe I wanted a bit of adventure. I don't know, but I am suddenly regretting the decision._

" _Are we in trouble?" He asked. I scoffed._

" _You are when we land." I snark under my breath, referring to the slightly drunk Sara Lance that's leaning against the corner of the hall, wrapping a robe around her bra and underwear, smirking._

" _One of us is." Dad adds, apparently having not heard me. Oliver chuckles, and Sara takes a step forward._

" _Ollie?" She asks, and I grimace. Laurel should be the one calling my brother's name. Not her sister. This was wrong on_ so _many levels. "Where do you keep the bottle opener on this thing?" She went on._

" _I'll—I'll be there in a minute, Sara." Oliver replies. Sara gives him a grin and returns to their cabin. I squeeze my eyes shut. This was wrong and Ollie knows it. He's just currently too drunk to care._

" _You shouldn't." I tell my idiot of a twin. He shrugs. "Laurel will-"_

" _Never know." I narrow my eyes. He and I both know that's a lie._

" _Oh, yes she will."_

" _I'm done discussing this." Oliver says, and turns to leave. Dad catches up to him and pats him on the back with a heavy sigh._

" _You know, son, that is not going to finish well for either of them or for you." I scoff._

" _Yeah. You'll have two hacked off women at your heels. And you and I both know you've never run a step in your life."_

" _Enough, Olivia." Dad admonishes, turning back to Oliver. "She makes a good point, Oliver."_

=#=#=#=#=

I came out of the trance to find that I was in front of the table in the foyer I'd nearly knocked over wrestling with Oliver earlier. I was standing next to Oliver, who was looking at a picture of Dad and us. We were about four and we were all grinning up at the camera.

"You okay?" Chris asks. I nod.

"Yeah, I just...miss him." I said, gesturing to the picture Ollie's holding. Chris doesn't press me further and I hear the front door open behind us. Tommy's here. I can somehow grin, even before he's in the room.

"What'd I tell you? Yachts suck." He snarks. I turn to face him, grinning.

"Yeah. Sign up for three weeks, max, and you're gone for five years. Lousy service." We all know that's not what happened, but trying to make light of it is the only way we can talk about it. We hug.

"Tommy Meryln. Missed you, buddy."

"Wouldn't shut up about you." I add, throwing an overly dramatic hand over my forehead.

"Can it, Liv." Ollie playfully growls. I chuckle.

"For the record, I missed you, too. I missed everyone." I say, somehow not getting emotional. Chris puts one hand on my back, shaking Tommy's hand with the other.

"Good to see you again, Tommy. Shall we?" Tommy asks, sweeping his hand toward the dining area.


	3. S01E01 prt 1

"So...what did we miss?"

In retrospect...stupid question. Stupid, stupid...stupid! It prompted several loud, overeager voices at once. I tensed, the voices ringing in my ears, until Oliver (at the head of the table nearest me) finally took notice. He gave a whistle.

"Sorry, but not everyone can speak at once and be understood. So. Please. One at a time." Then, everyone took turns naming something they thought noteworthy that occurred during the five years we'd missed. Most of it was movies or new TV shows that sounded cheesy and entirely uninteresting.

"Well..." Sean admitted, squirming slightly with anxiety. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got a revamp." I raised an eyebrow. That was one of my favorite shows. I had seen most of the version of the turtles that came out in 2003, and as Sean went on about it, I was actually intrigued.

"Hey, Sean, that actually sounds interesting. Please, no spoiling, buddy." he nodded eagerly.

"Okay! Maybe we could watch it together sometime?" I pretended to think it over.

"Maybe sometime." Then it was Tommy's turn again.

"Ok. What did you two miss? Uh...Super Bowl winners—Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again." I hummed. Nice to know Tommy remembers Oliver's love of football.

"Nice. I was hoping the Steelers would win more, though."

"A black president. That's new." I rolled my eyes. Tommy wasn't giving up his 'turn', but it was alright. He chose better topics than Thea and Sean, anyway. At least Chris had mentioned that _Star Trek_ had gotten a movie. And it wasn't half-bad, from what Chris said. All Thea talked about was how trashy some book-series-turned-into-a-movie-franchise called _Twilight_ was. No one who'd been in Starling City for the past five years argued. Ollie and I gave up even trying to get in a question about what it even was. "Oh, and _Lost_..." I swallowed, briefly panicking, unsure of where this was going, but then remembered that it was the title of one of Oliver's favorite shows. "They were all dead...I think." I scoffed.

"Plot. Twist." I chuckled. "Talk about spoilers." Thea leaned in suddenly, watching our every move.

"What was it like there?" There was a pointed silence in the room as we digested the question and thought of how to answer. Anything we said would taken as truth and they would react accordingly. We had to be careful.

"...Cold." was the ultimate decision on how to put our experience in a single word. And it fit. Every thing and every one on the island was _cold_. There was no other word for that experience.

"Especially in winter." I added, trying to lighten the mood. I don't think it worked as everyone stared awkwardly at the two of us. Tommy, unsurprisingly, was the next one to try and make the situation less weird and awkward.

"Tomorrow, you, Olivia, and I, we're doing the city." I chuckled as my mind took what Tommy had said the wrong way.

"I'll be there, too." Chris said, hand taking mine.

"You two have a lot to catch up on." Tommy went on.

"Tommy and I are gonna fix that." Chris added. Mom smiled.

"That sounds like a great idea." I nodded. Nothing sounded better than spending the entire day listening to my husband talk about what I'd missed. Just listening to him...all day.

"Yeah. It does."

Oliver smiled. "Good. Then I was hoping to swing by the office." Walter and my mother exchanged a look.

"Well, there's plenty of time for all that. Queen Consolidated isn't going anywhere." I heard Raisa come in, bearing a platter of fruit, and as she approached the table, her foot caught on something and she stumbled, nearly dropping the small platter. I started to rise, some part of my brain telling me that, being on the opposite side of the table, beside Thea and across from Tommy and Sean, it would be pointless. Oliver was quick to react, as well, catching the plate and steadying Raisa simultaneously.

"Oh! I am so sorry, Mr. Oliver." As I had done when greeting our friend earlier, Oliver talked to Raisa in her own language. I blanched slightly. Again, Tommy was the first to speak.

"Dude, you speak Russian?"

"I think he just-" I was trying to give Ollie a good excuse, something along the lines of 'he probably just picked up a few words from when I would practice aloud or I'd ask him to quiz me', but Tommy interrupted.

"I didn't realize you took Russian at college, Oliver."

"Oliver never really went to college to learn, Walter." I replied. Oliver smirked at Walter in a manner I knew meant danger for whoever the smirk was for. Before I could say another word, Oliver was already talking.

"I didn't realize you wanted to sleep with my mother, Walter." I groaned, squinting and clenching my fists. There _had_ to have been a better way to broach that topic. So what if Oliver and I'd picked up on their romantic intentions for each other? It's just another part of what we missed. _In fact_ , I thought, _they might have bonded over mutual loss because Dad decided to board that stupid boat for a joyride or whatever it was_.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Ollie...bad timing." Thea somehow chuckled as the tension rose in the room once again.

"I didn't say anything." She admitted. Tommy, Chris and Sean all shook their heads, as well. Oliver and I exhaled slowly.

"She didn't have to." Oliver and I replied in synch. I swallowed. Mom nodded like this was normal. Maybe she had seen our reaction to their subtle romance. Then, Mom and Walter joined hands. My mother looked Oliver and I dead in the eyes.

"Oliver, Olivia...Walter and I are married, and I don't want you to think that either one of us did anything to disrespect your father." I nodded. This was fine. I can deal with this. In fact, I already have.

"...Okay." I said, smiling at my mother. Oliver, however, didn't. He just stared, yet again, at my— _our_ —mother. He then moved his eyes down to the table, swallowing subtly.

"We both believed that, like you two, Robert was, uh, well... was gone." Walter added. Ollie nodded briefly, his movements jerky. I knew that meant he was on the verge of a freak out. He caught my gaze, imploring him to stay calm and collected. We didn't need this right now, not so soon after we'd gotten home. We had a lot to catch up on, most of it having to deal with our family and what happened to them in the five years they thought we were dead.

"It's fine." That did nothing to ease the tension in the room as Oliver gave Mom a comforting (at least, he probably _thought_ it was comforting) smile and rose from the table.

"May I be excused?" I was stunned. He didn't usually ask for permission to do anything. It took a second for me to react.

"Oliver...don't." I whispered, but he was already leaving. He grabbed a pear on the way out.

"Hey, don't forget about tomorrow, buddy." Tommy noted. Oliver nodded, putting a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder. Tommy put a hand over Oliver's both to reassure him that Thomas Meryln was still Oliver Queen's best friend, the one person Oliver could go to with anything (family members aside) and have nothing but acceptance and grace. Heck, Tommy usually joined our escapades.

Or instigated them. Whichever. Dinner was silent and awkward after that.

"...He, uh...I, um, I'll talk to him in a minute, see what the heck that was all about." I muttered shyly, picking at my blouse.

"It's alright, sweetheart." Mom replied. "I know it's a big shock." She shrugged. "He just needs time to adjust." I nodded.

"Something like that."

=#=#=#=#=

"I don't get it, Ollie." I said later that evening as Ollie got hurriedly ready for bed, movements angry and jerky as he jammed the toothbrush over his teeth. "Why the freak out? It's not that big of a deal. So what? Mom and Walter are married. It's clear they love each other."

"Just...stop, Liv. Stop. It's just...seeing Dad and Mom together my whole life...and now Mom and Walter are..."

"Not doing anything wrong. They probably came together in a trying time, leaning on each other for support and love when they were coping with their losses. Besides, it's not like Dad-" I shut my mouth. Why was I about to bring Dad into this? That was stupid.

"Dad what? Isn't here? That what you were going to say?" I groaned, swallowing and gritting my teeth.

"I'm sorry. I just...I think we just have to move on and adjust to the changes instead of stubbornly thinking things are going to just snap back to normal again. I don't think they are, but I do think we can get through it together." I sighed. "As a family." Oliver groaned.

"Please don't manipulate me like that, okay? I get it. We're a family, we're back together after five years, and I should just get over the doey-eyes our mother and our father's best friend send each other."

"You should."

"But I _can't_ just magically get over it."

"Again I say, you should. It's nothing. Just add it to the pile of things to process about our missing time."

"It's not that I'm upset I missed a lot—which, shockingly, I am—it's just...she's my mother, and he's my father's best friend. It's been that way for my entire life. Gonna take a while to adjust."

"Well, make it fast, cus dinner took a speeding turn into Awkward Boulevard when you left like that." Oliver sighed, drawing me in for a hug.

"I'm sorry. I just...it's too sudden for me. I'm happy you are so adaptable, but I am not that flexible. I like consistency in certain areas." With that, we both made a move to head toward the bed. For some reason, my heart clenched. Was I suddenly ready to get back to my old life of the best things (like mattresses) money can buy and pristine silk sheets? Was I ready?

No...I can't say I am.

"Not the bed?" I asked. Oliver nodded, swallowing thickly. For too long, we'd suffered through sleeping whenever, wherever we could. We weren't ready to just up and get back to living our old lives. So we moved over toward the window seat, settling down on the ground with the window open, despite the storm outside. It was as close as we could get to mimicking the conditions we'd come to adjust to on Lian Yu. As soon as my eyes shut, the nightmares commenced.

=#=#=#=#=

 _The yacht was tilting like mad, and I was concerned. Very concerned. It was_ gonna _capsize. I just knew it. Dad tried telling me that it was nothing to worry about, but I seriously doubted that. Currently, I was in my cabin, praying that the storm would dissipate and we really would be fine. After all, weren't there higher categories than a 2? Regardless, I was scared. And a little seasick. I grabbed the tiny printout Chris had given me before departure for comfort. Why wasn't I home with Chris, enjoying a calm night in, maybe watching some cheesy romance flick or something on this blustery, stormy night?! Though...it probably wasn't storming back in Starling City. Then...there was a thunderclap, I swear, right above my head. I screamed, and fell off my bed in panic, and suddenly, the bed tipped, nearly crushing me, and sending both it and me toward the window. I felt glass shatter beneath me, scarring my back, arms, and legs, gashing my skin as I plunged into the ocean. The water was frigid and I was already panicky. I hardly knew which way was up anymore as I floundered helplessly below the surface. Before long, thank the Lord, I felt a hand grab me. It was Dad! He swam toward a lifeboat. Another crew member helped me get aboard then lent Dad a hand as I collapsed, shivering violently._

" _You alright?!" Dad asked. No, I was not. The saltwater did_ not _help my cuts one bit and I was watching the_ Gambit _sinking. I searching the water desperately. Ollie...no, no, no!_

" _OLIVER!"_

=#=#=#=#=

I should have been prepared for the intervention of my family, really. It was to be expected when their loved one starts thrashing and screaming, after all. But, really, that nightmare was too vivid, too close to making me believe I was really back on the yacht...and now...there was someone shaking me. I think I can be forgiven for being scared out of my mind by someone trying to hug me. Reflexes took over, and I flipped the man, straddling him and preparing to show him I would not be—I didn't realize that it was Chris until I had my fist drawn back. Again. I gulped. What had I done? Oh, frick! Turns out, upon inspection of the room, that both the carpet and Ollie and I were soaked and Oliver had Mom under his hand, positioned on her throat. I gulped again, looking back down at my husband. He'd decided to stay at the mansion when I explained that I was not ready to sleep without Oliver nearby yet. Not after five years of depending on him to be able to shut my eyes. He'd taken Oliver's bed in our place after I told him not to worry about me.

"Chris...I—I...I'm...I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you."

"It's okay, but please, hun, I can't really move or breath here." It registered that I was still on top of Chris, my knee digging in directly above Chris' collarbone. I scrambled off him and back into a corner with Oliver. We had hurt family members. Unintentionally, sure, but we _had_ hurt them.

"It's alright, sweetheart. You're home, both of you." Mom whispered. We nodded, the words not really registering. We had hurt our family. That was not okay. "You're home."

Everyone settled back down eventually and Ollie and I shut the window after many more apologies (that were accepted readily, somehow), deciding we didn't have to torture ourselves just to get some sleep.

=#=#=#=#=

" _I'll only ask one more time!" The man growled, voice laden with menace and hate. The needle was inches in front of my brother's nose, and there was nothing I could do to stop him from injecting Oliver. "Where are the graves?" I sobbed in frustration. Why couldn't the man understand?! We wouldn't tell him, even if we could remember how to get to the graves!_

" _I don't know!" Ollie and I replied, desperate to get our point across. The man chuckled, the sound chilling me to the core. He had hurt me, made me watch my brother get beaten by his fists...and he was chuckling at me._

" _Very well." And then, in the blink of an eye, he had my hair in his fist, pulling it so hard toward him, I thought he was trying to decapitate me. As it was, I screeched._

" _NO! Stop! Please! We don't know where the graves are exactly! We don't know our way around the island!" It was a partial truth, but still. "Please! Stop!" Oliver screamed, fighting the restraints, though he knew they wouldn't budge. I cringed beneath the man holding my hair. The man didn't listen, the needle inching toward my neck._

" _Do you know what this is?" He asked, face uncomfortably close to mine, the syringe poking my neck to illustrate what he was talking about, though it was obvious. "It's the next step toward creating the ultimate soldier. Designed to augment everything about the injected soldier. Of course, it's still in beta testing. We appreciate your donation to the research." He growled, sticking the needle deep into my neck, a fire spreading from the point of injection toward the rest of my body._

" _NNNOOOO!" Oliver screamed, as a guttural outburst of agony came ripping out of my throat. I'd never been in_ this _much pain. "We're not lying! I swear! We don't know exactly where the graves are!" He sobbed, straining to get closer to me as darkness, one that would last a good while, enveloped me._

=#=#=#=#=

This time, there was no attacking a family member when I woke. It was a classic 'sit bolt upright, panting and scanning the area, disoriented and dazed before realizing your not where you thought you were' scene, instead. Oliver was the only one in the room now. He just gave me a look.

"Injection?" I dimly registered that my left hand was clasped over the left side of my neck, the venous grayed skin beneath it. I dropped the hand, nodding grimly. "Mom's making breakfast with Raisa in the kitchen." I groaned. Right. Last night actually happened.

"How is she?" I asked.

"Don't know, but the kitchen's right below us. Knowing how much Mom likes to cook..."

"Right." Now, I could actually hear the sizzling of something in a frying pan, faint and hardly recognizable. "Where's Chris?"

"Uh...getting dressed in the bathroom. He just got out of the shower." I nodded and just then the door opened.

"Good morning, gorgeous." Chris said, sitting next to me. I blinked.

"Morning...you aren't mad? You aren't going to react at all to what I did last night? What we both did?" Chris sighed, taking my hands. I held in the urge to tense them up. This was _Chris._ I knew him.

"Olivia, look at me. I don't blame you at all. You went through...so much on that island...it's reasonable to expect something like that at first. I'm just sorry you are haunted by nightmares that make you think you're in danger." I blinked back tears. This was unbelievable! I loved this man so much, it almost physically hurts! He cupped my cheek. "Now, come on. After breakfast, Tommy and I are going to take you and your brother out for a while, show you all the improvements the city has made."

I smile shakily. "Sounds good, babe." I let him help me up. We started to head downstairs but then I got a better idea. Why not broach the mission topic now? I mean, it'll be a few minutes, most likely, until we need to head down for breakfast. I swallowed. "Hey, Chris? Honey...there's something else I need to tell you." He looked at me, noting my hesitant expression. I heaved a sigh. "Ollie and I...we...we have come back with a goal. A pretty dangerous one, at that." He nodded, tilting his head in confusion.

"Okay? What is it, exactly?" _You can do this, Olivia. He'll understand, won't he?_

"...We are going to cure the city of every corrupt official and dirty business man that's sucking the life out of our city. I know you are thinking I'm crazy, but..." I swallowed down a lump that had arisen in my throat. This could push Chris over the edge, be the one thing that causes a rift between us, but I have to make him understand what I'll be doing, regardless of how he reacts to it. "remember when I told you that Ollie, Dad, me and another crew member got to a life boat and then Dad murdered the other member before...before shooting himself?" Chris nodded. "Well...before he went, he told us that _he_ was one of the vile men draining the life out of his city. He told us to right his wrongs before...before he shot himself. He begged us to survive, make it home, right his wrongs, all of it. He was desperate. And that thought, that plea, is what kept us focused during those five years. We tried and tried to get off the island, each time failing, but coming back stronger than before, until we saw the boat and it took us away. We are home now, and are ready to honor our father's memory." Chris, miraculously, laughed.

"Wow. Classic superhero origin story." Ladies and Gentlemen...Christopher Graham; incurable, lovable nerd and the best man on the planet. He is literally too good to be true. His arms wrapped around my waist. "Something tragic and horrible happens, usually involving the death of a parent...they come home, more distant and...changed. More romantic, too. Classic. Awesome, but classic." We kissed softly and passionately.

"Breakfast." I breathed when we broke apart. Chris groaned.

"Right. Lead the way."

"You are okay with me turning vigilante? You may have to patch Ollie and I up." He was a paramedic. He'd be the one I want patching me up when I get hurt taking worst of Starling City out.

""Well...it'll take some getting used to, but I think we can work it out. You willing to try?" He asked, taking my hand. I grinned, giving Chris a kiss.

"Absolutely." We left the room and I could hear Ollie talking to Thea. There was one of Thea's friends, Margot I think, heading towards the front door. I halted. That girl...has drugs on her! I can't tell what kind, or even if she really, actually needs them, but...she has drugs. "Drugs." I whisper to Chris. "That girl has drugs."

"I'm sure there's some explanation." He replied.

"Hopefully not that my sister is hooked on them." I noted. We were at Thea's doorway now, and I could smell the drugs in here, too. Maybe it was just residual stuff from the girl, scents left behind, but anyway, Ollie was holding out the hozen, smiling.

"You did _not_ come back from a deserted island with a souvenir." She chuckled.

"Well...it was pretty cheap at the gift shop." I noted sarcastically. Thea took it, chuckling. Outside the room, I could hear someone trying to be subtle in creeping up the stairs.

"It's a hozen. In Buddhism it symbolizes reconnecting. I kept it in hopes that one day, it would reconnect me with you." Thea grinned, placing the rock on her desk as the unknown person (probably Tommy. Yep. I can smell his cologne.) got to the doorway.

"A rock! That is sweet! You know, I want one of those T-shirts that says 'my friend was a castaway, and all I got was this crappy shirt'."

"Hilarious, Tommy." I reply, hugging him.

"I try. Oh, and your Mom wants me to tell you that breakfast is ready, and Speedy needs to hurry and get ready for school." Speedy rolled her eyes as we chuckled.

"Don't let him get you into too much trouble. You just got back. Take it slow." She said, pecking Oliver and I's cheek.

"Well, we'll have Chris with us, so...I'm pretty sure we won't be too crazy." I reply. "See you later, Thea." I gave my little sister a hug.

"Ahem. The city awaits." Tommy noted. I rolled my eyes.

"Breakfast first, Tom." Chris admonished playfully. We all headed down.

"Have you noticed how hot your sister's gotten?" Oliver and I turned to glare at Tommy. Was he serious?! He caught our glares. "Because I have not."

"Right." I reply snarkily as as entered the kitchen and I was greeted with the smell of coffee, pancakes, and bacon. As well as a variety of fruits. Yummy!

=#=#=#=#=

"Really, Mom." I chuckled. "I'll be fine."

"You only had an apple, two pancakes, and a few slices of bacon. Honestly, honey..." I sighed. "A girl needs more than that to get by." Much as I hated to bring up the topic of the island, especially after the fiasco last night...I needed to explain why I didn't have my usual appetite.

"I've made do with less, Mom, but if you're that insistent...I'll get a bigger lunch. Really. Love you." I said, pecking Mom on the cheek before taking off after Ollie, Tommy, and Chris. We piled into the car and away we went. It was quiet for a while as Tommy, the self-proclaimed chauffeur, decided on the best way to go.

"Your funeral blew." Tommy finally spoke. I swallowed, leaning my head against Chris' shoulder. He took my hand, rubbing it comfortingly.

"Sorry." I mutter.

"Yeah...got kinda sick of all the people tell me they're sorry for my loss after a while." Chris replies. I groan.

"Did you get lucky?" Oliver asks. I let my jaw drop. Oh, boy, Ollie. Really? I pinch the bridge of my nose, yet somehow am able to laugh. This was how things were with those two.

"Fish in a barrel." Tommy notes, laughing. "They were so sad...and huggy."

"No." Ollie replies, laughing.

"Yeah...got sick of that, too." Chris noted. "After a year or two, the flirting started. It only lasted a few months. Shoot down enough people, and they stop trying." I nod.

"I'm sorry. Really."

"You had no control over it." Chris retorts. "Don't apologize." I nod.

"Well, I am counting on another target-rich environment for your welcome-home bash." Tommy goes on as if there hadn't been anyone talking but him. I groan.

"Please no." Tommy chuckles and I know that's sealed the deal. It's happening.

"Wait...at my what?" Oliver asks.

"You two came back from the dead. This calls for a party. You tell me where and when. I'll take care of everything."

"Nothing I say is gonna change that, right?" I groan. Tommy laughs.

"Nope!"

"Brilliant." I scoff.

"It'll be fun!" Chris says in a way-too-cheery voice. I roll my eyes, but give him a kiss, anyway.

=#=#=#=#=

"This city's gone to crap." Tommy notes sadly as he stops in a back street in the Glades. I don't remember the Glades being _this_ bad. This is like _New York City_ kinda bad. Geez... "Your dad sold his factory just in time." _And left several people on the streets to fend for themselves_ , I think with a heavy sigh. "And why'd you guys want to drive past through this neighborhood, anyway?" Tommy asks.

"No reason." Oliver notes, looking at the factory. I gaze at it, too. _It's remote, out of the way, but it'd do nicely for a lair. Nice choice, Ollie._

"Guess we wanted to see just how bad things have gotten before we see the better side." I added. Tommy took that as in invitation to get out of there, and we saw several more slums before we got back to the prettier side of Starling City.

"So, what'd you miss the most?' Tommy asks. "Steaks at the palm, drinks at the station, meaningless sex?"

"Again with the dirty and inappropriate, Tom?!" Chris and I exclaim from the back seat. "We're still back here, you know!"

"Laurel." Oliver replies, looking down at something. If I had to guess...the tiny picture of Laurel she'd given Ollie just before we got on the yacht.

"Chris, as well. And just you guys in general." I added with a loud exhale.

"Everyone is happy you're alive." Tommy notes. "You wanna see the _one_ person who isn't?" Oliver just shrugs.

"He _does_ like danger." I note, grinning. "And an angry Laurel is about as dangerous as it gets."

"He's gonna get it when they meet again." Chris notes. I nod.

"...Yeah, he is." I reply, sighing and leaning back in my seat as Tommy reluctantly drives to a building I thought was still being constructed when the _Gambit_ set sail.

"So! Laurel got her law degree, and started a legal aid office with Joannah." Tommy explains. "I'll let you three get reacquainted from the safety of my car."

"I think I'll stay, as well. I don't think it's right to intrude on this." Chris adds.

"Thanks, honey." I snark, kissing him as I unbuckle. "Wish us luck."


	4. S01E01 prt 2

Turns out, it would have been pointless to wish us luck. No amount of luck could get us out of that look Laurel gave us when she finally noted our presence. She had been talking about some case against some guy I didn't know aside from the list. It was angry, hurt, and betrayed. All the things I could have told Oliver she would feel.

"Hello, Laurel." Ollie greets. He stays right where he is, though I can he's sorely tempted to try a hug, but stops when he sees the fire in her eyes.

"Been a while." I add. She glares at me. Probably not the best way to greet my brother's ex, who now hates us both because I didn't stop Oliver from cheating on her, and Oliver for cheating on her with her sister! "How about we go for a walk?" She doesn't say a word, but heads out with us, anyway. I can hear her heart-rate thundering. She's furious with us and for good reason.

"You went to law school. You said you would." Oliver begins.

"I remember quizzing you." I add, smiling, but still not a word from Laurel.

"Yeah. Everyone's proud." She finally says. I resist the urge to make a sarcastic comment. I was still holding out hope that this conversation could still be somewhat friendly.

"You've done well for yourself." I tell her instead.

"Yeah. Joannah and I had to scrimp and save for a while, but...we did it." I nod. She wasn't so snippy with me, at least.

"Adam Hunt's a heavy hitter. You sure you wanna get in the ring with him?" Oliver asks after a moment's pause. Laurel sighs.

"Five years and you wanna talk about Adam Hunt?" _Yeah, and stay away from more dangerous topics._ I continue walking beside Oliver, silent. Anything I say could blow this otherwise fairly friendly and polite conversation.

"No. Not really." _Guess we can't avoid the elephant in the room but so long. Here we go..._ I bit my lip as Laurel's expression turns darker and harder to read.

"Why are you here, Ollie? And you, too, Olivia. Why?" She asks after a moment.

"Well...is it wrong to want to talk to an old friend?" I mumble, hands in my pocket. She doesn't reply to me, waiting for Oliver's response. I hoped he chose wisely.

"...To apologize." I swallow. This was it. "It was _my_ fault. I wanted to ask you not to blame her." I sigh. Not bad, but we'll see how Laurel takes that.

"For what?" Laurel finally asks. "Falling under your spell? How can I possibly blame her for doing the same things that I did?" I blow a stray hair out of my eyes, trying to act calmer than I felt. This was getting more and more awkward and tense. Ollie sighs.

"I never meant to-"

"She was my sister!" Laurel snaps, interrupting. I scratch at my neck awkwardly. "I couldn't be angry because she was _dead_. I couldn't grieve because I was so _angry_. That's what happens when your sister dies while screwing your boyfriend while your boyfriend's sister did _nothing_ to stop it." I grimace. _"You're right. I should have pushed harder to get Ollie to stop. I should have never let your sister on that fricking boat and if I could do back, do it all again, I would have slapped Oliver! I wanted to, so bad. But I didn't cus he's my older brother by five minutes and I was a coward when it came to confrontation."_ I wanted to shout, but I suppose I still hate confrontations like this. Besides, it wouldn't have made a difference. Laurel would still hate us. "We buried an empty coffin, because her body was at the bottom of the ocean. Where you left her." I close my eyes, unable to trust my vocal cords to work properly with the lump in my throat. If only Laurel knew... "It should have been you." I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. And I wasn't the one the cutting remark was addressed to. I could only imagine how Oliver feels right now.

"I know it's too late to say this, but I _am_ sorry." I hoped Laurel could tell how much Oliver means that. She just narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, too. I'd hoped that you two would rot in Hell a lot longer than five years." She growled. I had no reply. None. Nothing I could say would make this situation any better as Laurel stormed off. I had noticed Tommy in the distance, standing beside Chris at the entrance to CNRI, as the office was called, and Laurel glared at them as she stalked by. "How'd you two think that was gonna go?" She spat at them. Chris just groaned. Ollie and I were frozen in place, the sting and truth of Laurel's words still chilling us.

"'Bout like that." Tommy replied heavily. The boys then came over and Chris hugged me and I finally let a few tears out. There was no excuse. Laurel was 100% right.

"Come on."

"Let's take a look at the factory. See how it looks." Oliver suggested. Tommy and Chris raised no objections. We headed toward an abandoned warehouse Tommy had used as a parking garage.

"Glad we took care of that. Good call." Tommy notes.

"No, it wasn't." I mutter. Tommy sighs. I note a van driving down the road we just turned off.

"Now we can make up for lost time. If you're not too sick of fish, I say we find some leggy models and eat sushi all day. What do you say?"

"I say we skip the model part." I reply. "I want to drown what just happened in sushi and saki." Oliver doesn't say a word. The van is suddenly pulling into the warehouse, and before we can get too far, two men in red devil masks, holding guns, appear and stalk toward us. "What the frick?!" I cry, backing up. Chris puts himself in front of me, and I can't do anything as a dart lands in his neck. "No!" I exclaim, then proceed to catch my husband and end up getting a dart in my own neck. I grimace. They'd hit the left side. How did they know to...to...ugghhh...Unfortunately, there was a man who happened to come out just as all this happened. "Get...get back..." I croaked, watching helplessly as he was gunned down before my eyes as I fell, my body refusing to work.

I thought that serum made it...ugh...harder...to sedate me or something...who _are_ these people?!

=#=#=#=#=

 _The storm was still raging, and I had no idea how, but we weren't capsized yet. Oliver, initially bent on getting back in the water to search for Sara, has since calmed down, and was now slumped and subdued in the life boat. Dad hands us a water bottle._

" _Here, kids, drink." The only other survivor starts forward angrily._

" _The frick are you doing?! That's all we got!" He screamed over the storm._ Yeah... _I thought._ It is. Ollie and I shouldn't be the only ones given water. What's Dad doing?

" _If anybody's making it out of here, it's gonna be them!"_

" _Dad, no! We can all survive!" I reply. "We just have to work together, come up with a plan." Dad didn't say anything, which really creeped me out. What was Dad up to? What was all that about Ollie and I surviving? I didn't like the way Dad was looking at us right now."I'm so sorry!" Dad exclaimed. "I thought I'd have more time!"_

" _Time for what?" I reply, refusing the bottle Oliver offered me. I suddenly wasn't thirsty. "Dad, what's going on?"_

" _I'm not the man you think I am!"_

" _What are you talking about, Dad?!" I yell._

" _I didn't build our city! I failed it!"_

" _What does that mean?!" I am getting really worried here._

" _And I wasn't the only one." I grip Dad's shoulders._

" _Dad! Stop! This is freaking me out! What are you talking about?!" Dad merely hugged me._

" _It's gonna be alright, Liv." He told me. "Get some sleep. I'll explain everything when you wake up."_ Right. Like I'll get any sleep with what just happened. _I think, but now that the adrenaline is wearing off...I am a bit more tired than I thought...maybe Dad had the right idea. Oliver complied willingly. I curled up with my head on Ollie's stomach, but I couldn't get any real sleep with the storm beating down on me and Dad's weird ranting._

=#=#=#=#=

"Mrs. Queen. Mrs. Queen!" An unknown male voice sneered, right in my ear. I groan, feeling heavy and stuffed with lead, but somehow manage to open my eyes. I am tied to a chair and there is a masked face inches from mine and I can smell the whiskey heavily on his breath. Another holds up a taser in Oliver and I's face, but I hardly flinch. That's nothing compared to the torture session that left me with a permanent grey circle on my neck. Oliver can take a taser, as well. However, I can't help the panic bubbling up at the situation as I take in Tommy and Chris' motionless bodies on the ground. Who knows what could happen here? They weren't as accustomed to being interrogated as Oliver and I were. I tested my restraints. They, naturally, were pretty strong, zip ties, by the feel of them, but I should be able to break them if need be. But that's for an emergency. No need to let them know how strong I was just yet. I glare at the man. "Did your father survive the accident?" I looked around a little more. Far as I could tell, we're in an abandoned warehouse and it still smells like the Glades, so they can't have taken us far, right? I get a slap to the face to remind myself of the man in front of me. It stung, but not too bad. "I ask the questions, you give me the answers." I could hear those same words coming from the man in front of Oliver. I square my shoulders and remain silent. The man scoffs and presses the taser to my chest. I'd never been tased before, and was unprepared. I let out a scream, but then reduce it. It was hardly a bee sting compared to that serum and what it did to me. I hear Oliver scream, as well. I tense and soon enough the taser is retracted. I pant slightly, but I can bear it now. I know how it feels. The man got right up in my face. "Did your father make it to Lian Yu? Huh? He tell you anything?" Again, I remained silent. Again, the taser was pressed to my chest. This time, I merely groaned as the electric current swept through my body, panting slightly when it was over. I was slapped again, this time it was enough to draw blood from my lip and a second slap brought a trickle from my nose.

"Don't you _dare_ touch her!" Oliver growled from across the room.

"It's okay, Ollie. I can take it." I reply, voice low and menacing as I licked the blood, unafraid of anything these men could do, but also slightly worried about the questions they were asking. Whoever sent these men knew that Dad was one of the corrupt one-percenters that poisoned the city. Maybe they even knew about our list. I was so lost in thought, I never noticed the nod between the two men interrogating us. Suddenly, my hair was grabbed, and pulled to the side, the taser pressed harder than before against the center of my mark. It was too similar to that day, the sight of the man who had injected me filling my vision. I screamed and struggled. I couldn't help it! That moment was all that I could remember. I vividly felt the pain once more, once more hearing Oliver's protests and screams before the taser was taken back again and the memories faded. I slumped in the chair, panting, eyes wild and fearful, exactly like that day. I look up and catch Oliver glaring daggers at the men.

"Yes, he did." Oliver growled. I swallow. What was Ollie doing? Nonetheless, the men chuckled.

"And what did he tell you, Mr. Queen?" The man sneered. Oliver looked him right in the eyes.

"He told me I was gonna kill you for hurting my sister." He growled. I knew than that Ollie was about to break free. I tensed, ready when he was. The men chuckled, clearly thinking we could be contained with mere Zip-Ties.

"You're delusional."

"He isn't. We _are_ gonna kill you." I growled.

"You two are zip-cuffed to that chair." I heard the faint snapping of the cuffs and did the same. In synch we raised our hands. The men gasped. We smirked.

"Not anymore." We spat. The men tried tasing us again, but we ducked and I dove between the man's legs, slamming my elbow back into his back, and he tumbled forward, head crashing into the chair, shattering it. Ollie quickly took out a man with his own taser, then proceeded to using a second man as a human shield as another opened fire. I jabbed a weak spot on the neck and the man dropped the gun, spinning around and I slammed my body into his, and he flew back wards, where he then got up and took off running. "I got him!" Oliver cried, checking Tommy's pulse as I ran to Chris. His pulse was fine. "Stay here."

"Like frick I will. They're fine." I growled, running after Oliver, noting that the boys were waking up as I took off. I hoped they hadn't seen or heard anything. We ran through the warehouse, grabbing the rafters and swinging up to the second floor as the last man opened fire. We came out onto the roof, leaping over a bar and landing back on a lower part of the roof, sliding down too fast to have to worry about that moron with the automatic rifle before us. He ran down a flight of stairs as we got to it and we grabbed a wall to slow ourselves down a little before letting go and landing on the half-way platform on the staircase, chasing after the man again in miliseconds. By the time we caught up to him, he'd ditched the mask and opened fire again. We were confident he was too panicked to actually be able to hit us, however, and we soon had him. We had been higher up, using a chain to swing out and kick the man back, Oille then smacking the man's rifle away and getting an arm around the man's throat in a way that gave me pretty good indication of what my brother was going to do.

"Ollie, don't!" I screamed.

"He killed that man." Oliver growled. I gulped.

"You don't have to do this, man." The previously masked assailant whimpered.

"Shut up!" I growled. "You got yourself into this."

"And, yes, I do have to do this. Nobody can know our secret." Oliver adds, before snapping the guy's neck. "Don't look at me like that." He snaps. I glare at him.

"Why? You just murdered somebody!"

"They knew too much. They knew Dad was corrupt, they knew to tase your neck-"

"My neck is a _fairly_ _ **obvious**_ weak point, Oliver." I interject. "That is no grounds for _murder_!"

"No, there was more to it than that. They tasered your chest before realizing that they needed to take a different approach, play their ace, which was after you said you could take the taser." I scoff.

"So? They could see that you weren't really hurt by it, either."

"What if they knew about the list Dad gave us, huh? What if they found out that one of those notebooks is missing, connected the dots to Dad, and now they want to know what we know before we can get started on our mission?"

"Then we could have tied them up, left them to the police." Oliver narrows his eyes, shaking his head.

"You and I both know that wouldn't end well. They'd seen us fight. They know what we're capable of. They would've exposed us as soon as they stepped foot in a precinct." There was no winning this one, so I growled, but dropped it.

"Let's get back to the boys. They were stating to come around when we left."

We got back and went in the opposite way we'd left. Tommy and Chris were standing, rubbing their wrists.

"You guys okay?" I asked, hugging Chris tightly.

"Yeah. What was that all about?" I shrugged.

"Not entirely sure. Some hooded people came in before the interrogation got too far. Man and a girl. Took care of our kidnappers, then just...vanished." Oliver explained.

I nodded. It wasn't a bad excuse. And it sets up our entrance nicely. "Yeah. We were trying to thank 'em, but they were just...gone. Come on, guys. I think there's sushi rolls and saki bottles with our names on them."

"After we give our statements to the police." Oliver reminded us.

"Speak of the devil..." I reply, as sirens drew closer. It was Mr. Lance and his partner. Uh-oh. This has proven to be a _great_ day.


	5. S01E01 prt 3

**HERE IS ANOTHER CHAPTER FOR YOU GUYS! I LOVE WRITING THIS AND JUST...MAN, I WATCH _ARROW_ (I'M ONLY A HANDFUL OF EPISODES INTO SEASON TWO SO FAR) AND...IT'S HILARIOUS TO PICTURE OLIVIA'S REACTIONS TO WHAT'S HAPPENING. MY SIBLINGS DON'T GET WHY I LIKE THE SHOW SO MUCH. DAT SEASON ONE FINALE, SOH! THAT...THAT PHYSICALLY HURT ME. IT REALLY DID. **

**OH, AND A GUEST IS MY FIRST REVIEWER! THANK YOU FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT, DARLIN'! JUST SAYING YOU LOVE THE STORY MAKES ME GIDDY. WELL, ONTO THE STORY!**

 **GOD BLESS AND GOOD DAY!**

 **~ONE SEPTIC MARKIPLITE**

"Fancy seeing you four here." Mr. Lance notes dryly when he gets to us. Oliver takes a step forward.

"Listen, Officer-"

"It's Detective Lance now, Mr. Queen." I smile.

"Congrats."

"Spare me." He replies.

"Look, Detective Lance, uh, this was...fairly heavy. Can...can we give our statements at home? I just—our family's probably worried, and all that, so..." I leave the question in the air. Detective Lance scoffed.

"Be my guest. Let's go." The ride was silent. Tommy drove again, and Chris' hand never left mine.

"You killed them?" He whispered eventually as Tommy asked a few questions of Oliver. I shook my head.

"Oliver did. I knocked one guy out and then there suddenly was only one left and he ran...Ollie snapped his neck cus he thinks the guy knew too much, got too close." He started to ask what I was talking about, but I kissed him to shut him up.

"Not here." He nodded. "Thanks."

=#=#=#=#=

"Are you okay?! What happened?! Detective Lance called and said that you four had—had been kidnapped!" I laughed. Sean was adorably over-worried. I crouched down.

"Hey, hey, hey. Look at me, buddy. I'm fine, we're all fine. Don't worry. It's alright." Mom came over after looking Oliver, Tommy and Chris over, hugging them, as well, and embraced me tightly.

"Oh, Olivia! To go through that _right_ after you—oh, dear. Are you hurt?" I shook my head. "Don't give me that! You have dried blood on your lip and nose!"

"Mom. It's nothing. Really. They just slapped me."

"And tased us, too." Oliver reminds me. I gulp, the memory flickering through my vision again.

"Like I said, it's nothing. I don't think they had it all the way up. Really, I'm fine." Thea is now hugging me wordlessly.

"I can't believe you two had to-"

"Thea, please. We're fine, and that's all that matters right now." I interrupt. I didn't need to be reminded of that experience again. I was still freakishly mad at Oliver for murdering that guy, and I intended to discuss it more later. But for right now, I needed to comfort my family. Thea nods, and I move with the others into the living room to give our statements. As Tommy and Chris had been sedated until after the fact, it was up to me and Ollie. We described a bold rescue by two mysterious hooded figures, one male, one female, one armed with a bow and the other armed with aikuchi needles, how they moved so fast we barely registered that the men were down and the figures were leaving, and wrapping up with our alleged failed attempt to thank our rescuers. We even gave descriptions of the figures 'as best we could from the very brief glances we'd gotten'. They were just different enough from us that they should throw suspicion off us. Detective Lance just scoffed.

"That's your story? A guy in a green hood and a woman in a blue hood flew in and single-handedly took out four armed kidnappers."

"Yeah, which made the fight go so quick, I suppose." I added, shrugging. "Those hooded people were good."

"Like a movie, huh?" Detective Lance snorted in reply. I tried not to react to his taunt.

"Believe what you will, Detective Lance. It's the truth."

"Alright, let's say, for the sake of discussion, I buy it. I mean, who are they? Why would they do this?" Oliver grinned dangerously.

"I don't know. Find them and you can ask." Detective Lance scoffed and shook his head before turning to Chris and Tommy.

"Yeah. How 'bout you two?" He picked up the pictures. "You see these hooded guys?"

"No. I was still coming out of the sedation when the rescuers were leaving and Oliver and Olivia went to try and thank them." Chris replied. Detective Lance nodded to Tommy in an indication that Tommy needed to give his version of things.

"I saw...movement. Everything was blurry. I was kind of out of it." Detective Lance had the tiniest smirk.

"Yeah. It's funny, isn't it? One day back, and already somebody's gunnin' for you two." He chuckled. "Aren't you popular?" I sighed, knowing whatever I say will only complicate matters. Mom straightened up, barely refraining (by the look on her face) from glaring daggers at the snarky Detective before us.

"Were you able to identify the men?" She asked tersely. Detective Lance shrugged.

"Scrubbed identities, untraceable weapons. These were pros." His partner spoke up. _Not if their interrogation techniques can give any indication. Or maybe they just thought two rich, spoiled kids fresh out of a very traumatic experience would keel over and give them what they wanted. They probably didn't think through how the island could have affected us._ I thought, but kept it in. It would make things awkward. After all, how could a rich, spoiled little brat possibly know what a good interrogation looks like, right? _So what if they weren't professional interrogaters? They were asking questions that might have led up to 'do you have the list?'. That wouldn't have been good._

"Yeah. Probably figured you'd pay a king's ransom to get your kids back. Or a Queen's ransom, as it were." I was slightly confused by the taunt. "After all, a parent would do anything to keep their children safe." Mom cleared her throat.

"I don't find your tone appropriate, Detective."

"It's alright, Mom." I reply softly. Though I wasn't clear on what Detective Lance meant. Had he been saying that he should have done more to keep Sara on dry land, or were we to take it at the face value of the love of a parent for their children?

"If Oliver and Olivia can think of anything else, they'll be in touch." Walter said, clearly dismissing the two Detectives as he stood. "Thank you, gentlemen, for coming." We stood to see them out, and Detective Lance turned to us.

"Your luck never seems to run out, does it?" I took a breath to regain control before I socked this guy on the jaw. Now, I saw the taunts as him trying to get us to say something about Sara, most likely. He wouldn't succeed. There was nothing to say. We couldn't say sorry enough, and he wouldn't accept our apologies, anyway. We couldn't say we'd do it better if we could, cus he wouldn't take that, either. It was easier to just not give Mr. Lance any more ammo to fire at us as he left. After a few moments of tense silence, I turned to Oliver.

"Hey, Ollie. Uh...let's get working on scoping out bars for the party." Mom rose a brow.

"What party?" I groaned.

"Tommy's throwing us a 'welcome home' bash. I tried to dissuade him. It didn't work." She sighed.

"I see. Well...be careful out there." I smiled.

"We will."

=#=#=#=#=

"This guy definitely deserves being on the list." I growl, looking over Oliver's shoulder as he pulled up several articles on Adam Hunt. I know he only chose Adam Hunt because it's the name of the man Laurel is preparing to blow the whistle on, and it's the first name on the list we heard since getting back to Starling. "His type make me sick. Thinks he's untouchable cus he's got money. Geez..."

"How close were we to that mentality, though, Olivia?" Oliver replies. I bite my lip, deep in thought.

"You have changed." Raisa noted, bringing a requested lunch. "Not like you to read a book." We smiled.

"We missed you, Raisa." Ollie noted.

"A lot." I add. She laughed.

"No kitchen on the island."

"More like 'no cookie jar'." I reply, grinning.

"Ah. You used to get cookies from me behind your mother's back. Sneaky devils." I grinned.

"Yeah...good times."

"There were no friends, either." Oliver adds. I nod. None that lasted, anyway.

"True that." Oliver stands and retrieves the platter.

"Hey...thank you." Raisa smiles. "Do I really seem different?" He asks. "Olivia and I, I mean?" I leaned forward slightly, wondering what our friend would say.

"No. You are still a good boy." She replies. "Both of you...good kids."

"Oh, we both know we weren't." Oliver replies.

"Oh, no. Not at all." I add.

"But good hearts." Raisa points out. I smile.

"Thank you."

"I hope so." Oliver notes. "I want to be the person you always told me I could be." I suddenly remembered something we needed to do. We needed to go pick up our outfits. They were sent to an inauspicious location. Our father's factory. We needed to go get them.

=#=#=#=#=

"Oliver, Olivia. I want to introduce you two to someone." Mom calls as we exit the house to head toward the garage. I sigh. I'd heard Mom and...uh, Dad I guess, talking to someone about payments as we came out. I wondered why until I turned and saw him. Ah. Bulky, muscular, confident. He looks like a bodyguard if ever I saw one. And I've seen a few. I blew a strand of hair out of my eyes. If only Mom knew what we were capable of...but she can't. Ever. "John Diggle. He'll be accompanying you two from now on." We smiled disarmingly.

"We don't need a babysitter." Oliver notes.

"Darling, Oliver is a grown man. And Olivia is a strong woman. If they don't feel they need armed protection..." I smiled gratefully at Dad (still weird calling him that).

"Thank you."

"Yeah, I understand, but this is something I need." I almost groan. Of course Mom would want us to be protected. What sane mother wouldn't, especially after we were just kidnapped.

"Alright, Mom." I chuckle. "Diggle can drive us into town. We were going to run a few errands." Mr. Diggle takes a step forward.

"My pleasure, Mrs. Graham." And with that, he leaves with us to get into the car.

Oliver and I were already thinking about how to ditch him, sadly. I feel bad, but John can't know about what we're doing. It'll be amusing, though, watching his face as we, time and again, manage to ditch him. I hold in a chuckle at the thought.

=#=#=#=#=

"So...what do we call you?" Oliver asks. I smile and list a few ideas.

"Jo? Dig? Johnny?"

"Diggle's good." He replies. "Dig if you want." I nod.

"Cool." Oliver then clears his throat.

"So, you're ex-military?"

"Yes, sir. 105th airborne out of Kandahar, retired." I swallow. Nice.

"Respect."

"Thank you." He replies curtly. "Been in the private sector a little more than 4 years now. I don't want there to be any confusion, Mr. Queen and Mrs. Graham." I look him dead in the eyes to at least pretend like I was listening, but I was really counting down the seconds until we could get out. Poor guy's about to have a heart attack. "My ability to keep you from harm will out weigh your comfort."

"Naturally." I reply, respecting this man more and more. Which makes it all the worse that I'm gonna have to ditch him. I try not to bite my lip and apologize, like I'd normally do. Oliver grips my hand, the signal for us to unbuckle. Somehow, it doesn't make a sound. We move silently toward Oliver's door.

"Do we have an agreement?" John asks, oblivious to the fact that we'd moved. This might be easier than I—okay, ow! That hurt! Landed on my ankles and went right into a roll, coming up and sprinting toward a nearby alleyway with Oliver right beside me. I barely catch his startled examination of the car, barely holding in laughter.

"That was actually kinda fun." I note as I grab a duffel bag of things to help Oliver set up a lair in Dad's old factory. Getting over the fence was no big deal, retrieving the bags came easily and then it was just a matter of deciding how to go about this. It took several minutes to explore the factory, and then a few more to decide on where to get down to the basement, where the lair would be. It took several hours, but we managed to clear a safe path to the lair and get a rudimentary lair set up with an ethernet cable and three or four monitors on a table, with Oliver's laptop to provide basic intel to download onto the other desktops. All in all, yes, we should feel accomplished with ourselves. This was no easy feat, only really managed with the machinery left here when Dad closed this place down. We also used parts of the building to set up training grounds. Some of the stuff, however, we had to send the same way we'd gotten the outfits. It took a few days, all in all, but we managed. Sometimes, we'd sneak out before Diggle even knew we intended to go to town, leaving everyone to think (due to our previous lives) that we wouldn't be waking up til about noon. Which gave us a few solid hours on the lair nearly every morning, if we wished, and when we didn't do that, we were actually exercising in our bedrooms. Finally, however, we were ready. And we'd hardly had to ditch Diggle, which made me feel guilty cus Mom freaked when she found out we'd ditched him the first time. Chris and I hung out at the Manor a lot, which was why I still used my old bedroom. "I'm hanging out with my family for a while. That's all." Was our explanation for our continued stay at the mansion instead of the apartment we shared before the boat trip. The arrows and needles were easy to come by. We had a huge stockpile in the lair, and we practiced a lot.

Now, for Adam Hunt. Fraudulent thief and swindler. Also, a murderer. Anyone who even gets a tiny bit too close to uncovering his operation...they're eliminated. Turned into a tale used to bully people into submission when bribes fail. Hunt thinks he's invincible.

I guess we'll see about that. I adjust the straps on my arm, designed for easy drawing of my needles, with maximum security of the aikuchi to my arm. Beautifully light and easy to use. Twin tonfa are tucked into the knee-high custom-made boots designed like combat boots, but going up much longer and have a holster in them for the wooden weapons of last resort. I run over my equipment one last time as we wait in the rafters of some parking garage for Hunt to appear with his cronies. He's ordering his henchmen about as we rounds a corner. I swallow my nerves and get into a ready position, awaiting Oliver's signal, the arrow to the lights. It comes in moments. The men below freeze, startled. Hunt is then ushered into his car when Oliver shoots a guard and his men fire at where they think we are. In reality, we're chuckling behind them.

"Hey." Oliver calls and the man spins, scared. "You missed." I throw a needle as Oliver fires an arrow. I grimace. These men are dead. Oliver fires an arrow through the car window as he comes over, dragging Hunt out through the now open window. I crouch beside Oliver, needles ready, as Oliver draws an arrow back menacingly.

"Hey, there." I grin wickedly. Hunt is panicking beneath us. We proved he wasn't untouchable without his bodyguards.

"Just—just tell me what you want." We leap down and Oliver grabs him, roughly hauling him to his feet.

"You're going to transfer $40 million into Starling Bank account 1141 by 10 P.M tomorrow night." Oliver growls.

"If you'd be so kind." I add in a growl as I press a needle into his back.

"Or what?" He asks.

"Or we're gonna take it, and you won't like how." Oliver replies.

"By that, he means blowing the whistle on your operation. Imagine all the lawsuits. You'd be less than broke." With that, we leave, Hunt growling behind us.

"If I see either of you again, you're dead!" He shouts. We calmly turn and fire or throw one weapon each. I graze his cheek, Ollie decides to send his arrow through the back window of his car. We're gone when Hunt looks back at where we were. I feel giddy on adrenaline as we make our way through Starling toward home. We stop many small crimes along the way with a needle or arrow to the right place. It makes me sick to see how many rapes we prevented tonight alone. Okay, well, _I_ prevented. Ollie just kinda mainly focused on getting home. More and more he withdrew from helping until he was sulking, waiting for me to get done. I grew more and more angry until finally I got down to take care of things myself, snapping at Oliver to just get home already and to not make me angrier. Which only made me angrier, anyway, cus I _hate_ snapping at people. Tonight, as we'd gotten back by hardly 1:00, I did a bit of exercise to get the adrenaline to wear off. That was such a rush! That was amazing. We'd done it. We'd started our campaign to make this city as great as it had been once. Now, we just had to keep it going until it was accomplished. Oliver came into my room after he was done with his own exercises. I was up-side down my legs crossed, Indian-style, balancing on my hands. A friend of mine had shown me yoga on the island, and it helped calm me down. I uncrossed my legs, performed a hand-stand, and let my legs fall so my body made an upside-down 'u' shape before standing, exhaling slowly. Chris, watching me from the bed, whistled softly.

"You are amazing." he noted. I smiled and turned to Oliver.

"Yeah?"

"I just needed to talk to you about where we're having our party. Tommy's freaking out and insists that he can't sleep until he know where and when." I smiled. That was classic Tommy.

"Okay...uh, I was kinda thinking...isn't there a bar near Hunt's main headquarters?" Oliver grinned.

"There's one right across the street."

"Nine to...whenever?" I added. Oliver nodded.

"I'll tell Tommy." he said, turning to leave. I cleared my throat. There was something I wanted to talk to him about.

"Hey, bro?" He turned back to me.

"Yeah?"

"Why were you so dismissive of the rapes and muggings and robberies happening all over the city tonight? I mean, we could do _real_ good if we just-"

"We _are_ going the city good by taking out the list." Oliver interjects angrily.

"I know. We are. But I feel like it's not fair to neglect someone in danger just because their oppressors aren't on a list in a notebook." I gulped. "Wouldn't you have given anything to have someone rescue you, back on Lian Yu, when things looked hopeless, when we were in danger?"

"We had Yao Fei."

"Until we didn't." I said, gulping down a lump in my throat at the memory...I shook myself. Not now. No. "I'm just saying...those people were helpless...they need someone like us to help. And besides, we can make the story of our 'rescue' earlier more believable if we paint the vigilantes as people who stop any kind of crime." He grimaced, knowing that I at least had a point. He then left without another word, punching in Tommy's number as he closed his bedroom room. I sighed, feeling Chris' arms wrap around me.

"He'll come aaround." Chris assured me.

"I hope so."

=#=#=#=#=

"Come on, Sean. Get out of bed." I said for the fifth time, tearing off the sheets covering my foster brother's body. He instantly shot up and tried to get the covers back. I grabbed his wrists and flung him over my shoulders in a fireman's carry. He protested, wriggling and trying to punch me, but I took no notice, dumping him on the bathroom counter. "Mom told me to make sure you're ready for school. Then, I'm driving you there, alright?" He opened his mouth to protest. "Nuh-uh-uh. Mom says. It's happening. Come on. Get ready." I left him there, and grabbed an omelet and sitting to eat it. Sean came slouching and dragging his feet into the kitchen.

"Can I have coffee, Mom?" He asked tiredly. She shook her head.

"You need more energy like you need a hole in your head, young man. Now, eat your omelet and make sure you have all your books. Don't keep your sister waiting." Sean grumbled, but eventually acquiesced. We were finished eating and in the garage, getting into the car in less then ten minutes. Good. We'd got everything done before Diggle got here. I pulled out of the garage to find Diggle's car just pulling up to the house. I smiled and waved as I went by. He chased the car for a few steps, then decided it was a lost cause, throwing his hands up in a 'what the frick are you thinking?!' gesture. I laughed.

"Isn't that the bodyguard you're supposed to have with you, like, all the time?" Sean asked, fighting laughter. I shrugged.

"It's not like I'm in any danger. Besides, I need some room to breath without Mr. Diggle watching me like a hawk every once in a while." I reply. Sean smiles.

"Mom's gonna freak out again." I just rolled my eyes.

"I'll be back by lunchtime. Mom won't even miss me." I assured him, but I knew that she would, indeed, be furious. "And besides, I can handle myself." I added to myself.

"You think so?" I looked into the mirror at my little brother's inquisitive eyes.

"Yeah. I learned a lot on the island, little brother. Nothing...nothing's gonna happen to me."

"Like you thought you could handle the kidnappers when they showed up, right?" I grimaced.

"That was different. They had guns trained on our chests. It's...it's not...the same. If someone with a knife instead of guns tries to mug me, for example, they'd be unconscious before they knew I'd moved." I said with confidence. Sean took a slightly shuddering breath.

"Wow."

"Sorry." The drive was silent after that, and I could hear Sean's slightly heavy breathing, telling me that what I had said scared him. "Hey. Sorry I scared you. I just...can take care of myself and Mom doesnt think so and insists on a bodyguard, and...yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay. It's just...Mom talked a lot about you two, and...hearing you talk about knocking someone out like that...it's just a little scary."

"Sorry, buddy."

"Don't be. It's just how you are now."

"Right." I replied as I pulled into the school and right up to the drop-off point. "Love you, Sean!" I call after him.

"Love you, too, sis!" He calls back, and I hear his friends teasing him from where I stand. I then turn as a car stops alongside mine and Diggle gets out. I smile.

"So. You ditch me just to drop your brother off at school?"

"Yeah. Figured he didn't need to feel like the President's kid just because it's his sister dropping him off and Mom's being a little too paranoid."

"I'm just one bodyguard, Olivia." I roll my eyes. "Not the Secret Service."

"Call me Liv, and you know what I mean. I thought he'd want a normal drop-off." Dig sighed.

"I can understand that, but still. It's my job to follow you, make sure you aren't harmed. That's made very difficult by you constantly ditching me and going on your own to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what." I sighed.

"Look. I just...I need to get to my dad's old factory. I told Mom I'd be out until lunchtime, and Ollie and I are meeting at the factory."

"To do what?" I just smiled.

"Tell yah on the way."


	6. S01E02 Wrap-Up ( I think)

We were able to clear a lot of ground today, masking the lair's presence more effectively and completely. We also brought brooms and began the incredibly long and tiring process of sweeping off the factory floors. Ugh. My back hates me right now, and I'm only about half done with my half of the floor. It's a _very_ dirty floor.

"How did you get Diggle to just drop you off here?" Oliver asks as we take a short break. I grinned.

"I asked nicely."

"Really?"

"Nah, I had to let him come with us next time we're over here."

"What?!"

"Relax. With Chris on call all day Monday thru Friday, we could use all the help we can get if we're gonna get this bar up and running. So, we'll just focus on getting the lair un-discoverable by tomorrow. Right?" Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Fine." I grinned.

"At least now we won't have to ditch John and get lectures about it from Mom."

"I guess." Oliver grumbled, grabbing his broom. I did, as well, and we got back to work.

=#=#=#=#=

"Mr. Queen? Mrs. Graham?" Diggle asked, voice resonating off the walls at an almost painfully loud volume. I nearly hit my head on the roof right above my head as I worked on removing the compromised wiring. I easily repelled down. I landed on the lair's floor and grabbed my blouse and a sweat towel we'd brought along.

"Be right there!" I called back as Oliver and I began to climb the rope we'd set up to get down to the real reason we were here.

"So you two really want to make a bar out of this place?" He asked when we came out.

"Yeah." He frowned.

"You think you guys can pull it off?" We shrugged.

"We're willing to try." I admitted.

"Okay." John replied. "Now, I believe I'm to take you two to Big Belly Burger?" I looked at my phone again. We'd been texting back and forth with Mom and Thea about lunch plans.

"Uh, no. Table Salt." Diggle nodded.

"Right. My bad." He then groaned. "Oh, yeah, and we have to pick Sean up, as well." I frowned.

"We can do that?" Diggle shrugged.

"Apparently. To do that, we need to leave right now." I nodded, pulling my blouse back over my tank top. It was a usual style for now as it hid the scars when I wanted to hide them, and let me be a little cooler when working without ruining cloths.

"Right. Let's go." I smiled as Oliver opened the car door for me.

=#=#=#=#=

Lunch was fantastic and delicious. I hadn't known how much I missed Bratwursts until I had one at Table Salt. Wow. So good! Just...wow. Food is still amazing me after five years without a decent meal. Soda was equally startling. I didn't remember _that_ much fizz tickling my nose and making my stomach feel filled with air. Probably because I couldn't tell what it was doing back then. I couldn't hear the bubbles in my mouth, I couldn't feel them bursting in my throat and swirling in my stomach before Lian Yu.

"So." Mom starts after a plate of shrimp scampi. "What's this I hear about you and Oliver remodeling the Queen Consolidated factory and opening a nightclub?" I grinned.

"Oh, yeah. We've been clearing out the floors when we're gone for long periods of time." I explain. "It's coming along great."

"But Diggle isn't with you." Mom retorts. I grimace.

"Well...what harm could come to us inside an abandoned, decrepit old factory building?" Oliver asks with a shrug.

"I feel certain that's what you thought before those men came and kidnapped you." I groan. This again.

"Mom...no one really knows we're in there. Besides...we can handle ourselves." That was all I wanted to say about our capabilities. Mom frowned.

"Just...let Diggle know where you're going. For my sake." I smiled. It might complicate things down the road, but...

"Okay, Mom." It's something I can do.

"Deal." Oliver adds, smiling.

"I'll see you two later, then?" I get the vibe of this meal being concluded, so I stood with everyone else. We'd already paid the checks (poor waitress had to bring over, like, four different checks. Diggle, Mom, Dad, Oliver, Thea...yeah. Five. Sean was put on Mom's check), so we were ready to leave. Sean had to get back to school and Oliver and I...actually, I wanted to go see Chris, even if he was at the hospital, handing a patient off. I feel bad I haven't spent much time with him lately, focused on getting the lair set up.

"Hey, I'm going to see Chris. You can manage without me?" I asked, hand on Oliver's shoulder. He nodded. I grinned. "See you later, okay?"

"Don't forget the party." Oliver reminds me. "Tommy can't wait to show us off. You can't leave me alone with those people." The tone was light, and anyone else would have seen it as a joke, but I knew he meant every word. He was scared of being in public after five years of pretty much total isolation. It'd been too long since we'd been in front of an adoring crowd that hung on our every word. We needed each other if we were going to get through the party. I fake a convincing laugh.

"Very funny. I'll be there."

=#=#=#=#=

"Can I help—Liv?!" The receptionist gasped, taking in my appearance. I blinked.

"Lizzie?!" I beamed. My lord, I hadn't seen her yet! I'm so stupid!

"I heard you were back, but..." She drew me in, heavy breathing saying more than words ever could. I just stand there, arms around my best friend. Elizabeth Jordan, a fairly slender woman with decent muscles and curves, a gentle, caring oval face, half-full pink lips, and a way of putting everyone at ease.

"Yeah. Been busy."

"With Chris?" She asked suggestively. I blush. I had almost forgotten that Lizzie liked to make weird, dirty jokes.

"Oh, shush. And we've only done it once, sadly. No, I've been busy helping Oliver get a nightclub up and running in Dad's old factory." She blinked.

"Really?"

"I think he just wants something that he _made_ with _his_ own hands, you know? Start something new that he thought of, without our parents' assistance." She nodded.

"Have you met Sean yet?" I smiled.

"Yeah, I just came from lunch with them, actually. Is Chris here right now?" She smiled.

"Let me see." She typed away for a minute or two. "He's waiting for another call in Garage 2." I nodded. I knew my way, even after five years.

"Thank you so much! Hey...we should go for coffee sometime soon." She nodded eagerly.

"Tomorrow morning, 8:45?"

"Sounds good." I grinned.

=#=#=#=#=

"Olive?" Chris asked. I grinned and hugged him, kissing him soundly. The men around us wolf-whistled, much like they had before Lian Yu. I laughed. Chris' arm circled my waist in an almost protective fashion, a usual occurrence around his coworkers. I refrained from rolling my eyes.

"Hey, hun. Just wanted to stop by." he nodded.

"Just got on lunch break." There was an invitation there. I felt horrible. I should've asked Chris. Danggit!

"I—sorry. I've already had lunch. Bratwursts at Table Salt with the family. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, babe. I wouldn't have been able to come." He replied. "Now...head to the cafe for a...something?" I grinned.

"Sure. I'll get a smoothie or something if you'll help me with it. Not quite used to eating like I used to yet." I whispered, hoping that the men around me couldn't hear. In truth, Chris would drink it all, with me only tasting it. I couldn't handle any more food right now.

"It's been a few days. Since you got back, I mean." He noted with concern. "You alright?" I smiled sadly.

"Yeah...it was five years on not a lot of food." I reply somberly, voice trailing off. "It's one of the reasons I'm pure muscle now. All my body fat was burned away without anything else to run my body on..." He puts his arm around my shoulder.

"You sure you're okay?" I nod, but memories of hunger flick through my vision. There were several times that none of us ate for days on end. But now I could eat whenever, whatever I want. It's odd. _'Listen, kids. You gotta forget everything you thought you knew about life. This island...it's something else entirely. You gotta learn a new way of life here.'_ a friend had said, her Australian accent still crystal clear in my mind. Her constant mothering (as much as she could on the island) was what helped me through the experience. Her usual banter and sarcastic humor helped, too. She's probably the reason I have grown more and more sarcastic after Lian Yu. Man, I miss her...

"Hey, man, my treat to you; go be with your wife for the day, kay?" I snapped out of my reverie to see Chris, jaw wide open, arm once around my waist gone limp as he stared at his co-workers.

"Really?" They laughed.

"Go, before we change our minds." We did just that.

=#=#=#=#=

"You really think you're ready for this?" Chris asked, rubbing my upper arm worriedly. I kissed him before moving to put another shirt in the duffel bag. I then turned to face him, smiling.

"Ready or not, you have been nothing but so _incredibly_ patient with me. I think it's time I stopped babying myself and just...moved on." Chris smiled.

"Glad to hear it. Haven't been in the apartment in ages." I cocked a brow at him.

"What are you talking about? I haven't been-"

"No. I just...the five years you were gone...I spent crashing at the hospital, throwing myself so far into the work, I almost forgot to eat on a regular basis. I didn't listen to anyone telling me to stop cus I didn't _want_ to. I just...I wanted to...I don't know..." I hugged him.

"Forget the pain? Act like nothing's wrong when the truth is precisely the opposite." I understood that. A lot. Better than most people think.

"...Yeah."

"I get it. Really. I do." We then spent a handful of solid hours unpacking my things in the apartment. I sighed, and got to work dusting before it was time for me to shower before tonight's party. Ugh. The shower felt amazing and I probably stayed in a bit too long, but I don't care. It was relaxing, and right now the prospect of being in front of a crowd called for something relaxing. "Hey...what dress do you want me to wear to tonight's party?" We spent a good half an hour deciding on what we were going to wear because I refused to wear sleeveless (it felt like I was accentuating my scars and that's not what I wanted to do at all) or something too short (it showed more leg that I was comfortable with showing yet. So we eventually decided on an turquoise half-turtle neck tank-top style dress that flared out a bit at the waist and came down to my knees with a little extra length to the back that came to a graceful point. I wore cork-wood wedge-heeled sandals with it and had a silver necklace with a teardrop emerald pendant around my neck. It was loose enough to not feel like a choker (which would have had me panicking. I'd been choked far too many times...) but not low enough to be weird. I wrapped a gold belt around my waist and that was that. I finished towel-drying my hair and twirled it into a messy bun and secured it with an alligator clip as I surveyed Chris' clothing options. I eventually decided on a pair of casual khakis and a charcoal-grey blazer with an off-white polo underneath. I also picked out a pair of tan Sperrys, setting them on the floor beneath the clothes on the bed. He came out of his own shower with the towel still around his waist and took the clothes without comment, heading back into the bathroom. He came out a minute or two later and I helped him adjust his clothes. I swallowed. He looked ruggedly handsome in this get-up. There's no way I am letting that charm go to waste later. If I rewarded him now, however, we'd never make it to the party and I needed to be there for Oliver. So I merely took his arm. "Ready?" he nodded and we headed out to the car.

=#=#=#=#=

The first complaint I had was that _awful_ music! It rang painfully loud in my ears and made me want to run away, but I put on a brave face and smiled at Oliver as we walked down the stairs, eying Tommy making his way to us, a wide grin on his face as he approached, signaling (thank _heaven_ ) for the music to be turned off as he clapped us on the back.

"Everybody! Heeeyyyy!" He yelled, getting everyone's attention. I qualmed, but Chris' hand on the small of my back was grounding enough that I could smile and not scream and sprint out. "The twins of the hooouurrrr!" He screamed, and everyone went wild. I focused on my breathing before I went deaf. "The Prince and Princess of Starling City! Whoo!" Tommy cheered, leading us down into the overwhelming crowd. "And, ladies, please give this man a proper homecoming!" I groaned, but it was lost in the wild applause as eager-eyed women raised their glasses. Oh, geez...

"Tommy!" I hissed. He didn't even hear me. Then _We are the Champions_ by _Queen_ started playing. I laughed. That was something of a joke of a theme song. Oliver and Tommy pulled me toward a small stage. I blanched, fighting the urge to run, but knew I needed to do this with him if we were to last the night. "This is, well, it's something else, all right!" I cheered as Oliver got up, as well.

"Thank you very much, everybody!" Tommy suddenly appeared with two shots of, most likely, tequila.

"Ollie! Liv! Guys! _Guys_!" _Thank God._ I thought, grabbing it. _I need a bit of alcohol to get through this._ We sucked them down easily and, sadly, it wasn't as calming as I thought it'd be, but it did help a bit. We made a scene of over doing the effects of the burning sensation, but actually it wasn't far from what we would have done naturally. Alcohol was decidedly not available on Lian Yu. I wasn't used to the burn again.

"I missed tequila!" Ollie cheered. Everyone did, as well.

"And all you lovely people!" I added as we hopped down. I was about to do postal if I had to remain on that stage, acting happy and cheerful, any longer. We headed to the bar to further calm us down. My body was tensing at every accidental brush of an elbow or back. I needed something strong to take the edge off. "Jack, on the rocks." I ordered and the bartender then slid a shotglass down. Beside me, Chris asked for a martini and Oliver (on the other side of me) was chatting it up with some blonde. Chris' hand slid into mine and I smiled gratefully, shooting the glass back eagerly. It was as good a burn as I remember.

"You alright?" Ollie asked as the blonde ordered her drink.

"Meh. I have to focus on my breathing to avoid going deaf, but I might, anyway."

"Just hold out for an hour. Then, if Hunt hasn't fulfilled our demands...we'll have a break from the party." I nod. Yeah. That's good. Just an hour or so. I can do this...

"Wish I could come." I smile at Chris, but before I can say anything, Tommy had sidled up and slid into a seat next to my brother. I could already tell he was drunk, by the amount of alcohol odor coming off of him and by the almost unnaturally wide grin on his face. He nodded toward a disapproving Diggle.

"Hey, does he wipe for you, too?"

"NO. He just follows us _everywhere_. Well, except the bathroom." I reply, hating to have to sound so demeaning toward the man who had almost become friendly toward me, at least. Almost.

"Creepy. Now. By my rough estimate, you have not had sex in 1,839 days." I spit out most of the shot I was currently swigging back. Ha! If only Tommy knew...heh-heh. Oliver merely grinned.

"Tommy! Why does that particular topic keep getting brought up with you?!" I protested, but Tommy rolled his eyes, and didn't respond, turning Oliver toward three dancers on three separate stages that had been pushed fairly close together.

"As your wingman, I highly recommend Carmen Golden." Poor Oliver, I muse. Guy's not the same player Oliver he was before the island. But he couldn't refuse without raising questions. Oliver frowned.

"Which one is she?" Oliver asked. Tommy grinned.

"The one that looks like the chick from _Twilight_." He replied. I rolled my eyes.

"Gonna need more specifics there, bud."

"What's Twilight?" Oliver asks, confused.

"I remember you guys hating on it at dinner the other night." I add. Tommy laughed.

"You are _so_ better off not knowing." I laughed at the disgusted look on Tommy's face, and the adorable 'I still don't get it.' face Oliver eyed the three dancers with. I rolled my eyes and as I did, I noticed a blue dress on a girl with—Thea...what the frick?! She just took a baggie of what-ever drugs from that girl that was at the house the other morning. I frowned. Come on, Speedy...you're better than that.

"Ollie." I growl, too low for anyone else to hear. "Look." Just as Thea takes the bag, Olvier spies her, and his frown says Thea is going to get busted.

"Back in a minute." Oliver mumbles.

"Going to scope out the ladies, I guess." I say as I take another shot. I need to be careful. I don't think the serum completely erases hangovers. I hear Diggle move with us as we approach our little sister. I sneakily grab the drugs out of her purse while Oliver grabs her shoulder, directing her away from Margot, who I glare at to make certain we're not tailed.

"Ollie, Liv, hey!" She chirps. "This party is sick." _sick_ ** _ening_** _, yes._ I think.

"Who let you in here?" Oliver asks.

"And were they blind?" I add. She frowns.

"I believe it was somebody who said, 'right this way, Mrs. Queen.'." She replies. I roll my eyes.

"Cute." I snark.

"Well, you shouldn't be here." Oliver protests lamely.

"You're underage." I remind her.

"I—I'm not 12 anymore."

"Doesn't matter." I reply lowly. She needs to understand. This isn't right. It's one thing when you are of age, but she's not.

"No, you're 17." Oliver adds.

"Which, last I checked, was not old enough to drink legally." _or be in possession of drugs and other narcotics not for medical use._ I add internally.

"Ollie, Liv, I—I love you, but you can't come back here and judge me, especially for being just like you." I cock my head, irritated.

"Speedy, we're not those kind of people anymore." she frowns disbelievingly.

"I know that it couldn't have been easy for you when we were...away, but-" Oliver starts, trying to placate her, but Thea interjects.

"Away?!" Thea scoffs. "No. you two died. My twin sister, my brother, and my father died." I groan. Was _this_ how Speedy coped? Man, where was Mom in all this? "I went to your funerals." She growled. I blanched.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. Really." I mumble, hoping my sister could hear the sincerity in my words.

"I know." Was all Ollie said.

"No, you don't. Mom had Walter. I had _no one_." She growled at us.

"Alcohol doesn't help. It isn't a coping mechanism."

"No, but you guys act like it's cool, like, 'let's forget about the past five years'-"

"That's not—" I begin, but Thea cuts me off. She had to understand. We didn't— _couldn't_ —forget those years, but we could begin going about our lives, to them, as if nothing had changed, for the most part.

"Well, I can't." Thea went on. I swallowed. "For me, it's kind of permanently in there, so I'm sorry if I turned out some major disappointment-"

"Which you're not." I interject. "But what you're doing is-"

"But _this_ me is the best I could do with what I had to work with."

"So let's start getting back to the real you." I offer. She just scoffs and runs to Margot.

"Let's bounce." She tells her. I groan.

"That could have gone better." I note.

"You think?" Oliver growls back sarcastically. "You get her stash?"

"Oh, yeah." I reply, smirking and handing to him to throw away as I return to the bar.

"Everything okay?" Chris asks as I pour another shot. I sigh heavily.

"Thea thinks we're hypocritical jerks for looking out for her. I mean, she's our little sister. She's 17, I know, but she's...slipping, and we need to help her before she turns out like we did before the island." I take the shot, grimacing at it's fiery taste. "Thea doesn't see it that way, though." Just then, my cell goes off. I frown. Was it 10:00 already? I pull it out, and sure enough, it was the magic hour. I look around, half-expecting Oliver to come and tap my shoulder, but he's nowhere to be seen. I move toward the stairs, suddenly spying Oliver briefly on the second floor.

"-if it's made me a better person. It didn't." I heard Ollie saying. I peeked around the stairs to see Laurel of all people talking to Oliver with a shocked, hurt and confused face. Neither had seen me yet, and it was pretty clear that this was private and couldn't wait, so I stayed where I was. "Stay away from me. Otherwise, I'm just gonna hurt you again." I grimace. I understand that Oliver can't let too many people who'd notice his unpredictable schedule right away get close, but to do it like _this_?! Low blow, Oliver. Low blow... "But this time, it'll be worse." I swallow hard. Laurel most certainly will _not_ get close to Oliver after that. And after watching as my brother clung to a picture of this very woman, this very hurt and betrayed woman in front of me, for sanity for five years...it hurts. Truly and deeply. "Got to roll. I've got five years of debauchery to catch up on." He said with a horrifically faked cheer.

"You know what, Oliver?" Laurel growled. "You were wrong; that island did change you. At least now you're honest." Oliver watched Laurel go with a sad, almost lonely look in his eyes, the pain of pushing her away clear. I rolled my eyes. He'd brought this on himself, really. I went over, managing to not get seen by Laurel, and tapped Oliver on the shoulder.

"Come on, man. It's go time." Oliver had instructed Diggle to remain downstairs, so we reluctantly headed back down. We passed him and he started slightly.

"Something I can help you with, you two?" He asked. I smiled and shook my head as Oliver did the same.

"Just wanted a second to ourselves."

"Music and the crowd were feeling suffocating." I add.

"I'd believe you, Mr. Queen, Mrs. Graham, if you weren't so full of crap." I sighed. He was right, I suppose. We're not that great. We hurt those closest to us, and sometimes even lose them altogether. Like Yao Fei and...Willow. "Party's this way." He noted, sweeping his hand toward the door. We moved toward it, and Oliver had that steely, 'don't want to, but I have to' grimace on. I almost groaned. What was Oliver planning?

"It's locked." Oliver notes after trying (and failing) to get in through the door. Diggle smirks and moves to open it when Oliver has John in a choke-hold faster than either Dig or I could react. Moments later, he was passed out on the ground in a storage room nearby. I ducked behind a wall of vodka bottles, judging by the smell, and changed quickly.

"What the frick was that?!" I growl as we stuff our party outfits into the duffel bags.

"He'll be fine." Oliver replied. He was on the other side of the crates and didn't sound happy at all, though I couldn't really tell what he was mad about exactly. There were a lot of options. "Lucky I didn't push his lights out." He added. I rolled my eyes. I knew he was furious with himself for how he handled Laurel, but I never thought he'd take that out on Diggle.

Mom's gonna kill us...

=#=#=#=#=

"We're taking the elevator?" I ask after we'd taken out the guards that had just gotten into it. He looks at me like 'really?'. Then, it dings and opens, Ollie firing off an arrow into the most dangerous gunmen, the one directly in front of us, and I ducked, throwing needles into several other guards as Oliver fought the rest. Soon enough, there was only one left. Oliver pushed him into the glass door separating us from Hunt and the poor guy was suddenly looking like Swiss Cheese as shots rang in my ears. We moved swiftly, taking out the few guards in this room with relative ease. I hated seeing how many had arrows to the heart. Oliver then grabbed an electronic hacking arrow ( I don't know what it is, really, but it works) and fired, missing Hunt's face by inches.

"You missed." Hunt growled tauntingly.

"Nah."

"Really?" Oliver adds just as the last guy we'd taken down gets back up. Oliver and I focus on him, forgetting that Hunt was on the move. I watched leave for a _second_ and got a sucker punch to the rubs in return. I stumble half a step back, but don't let up on the attack as Oliver and I finish him off so we can go after Hunt. It takes longer than expected. Then, as the guy opens fire, we leap behind a couch, Oliver throwing a smaller arrow at the guy's chest and I throwing a needle into the barrel of the gun. Suddenly, I feel dizzy, but it passes quickly, and I notice that my shoulder is soaked. What? I feel it and it's warm.

Oh, frick! Oliver has passed out beside me and I can hear officers coming, clumsily thinking they were being stealthy. Oliver suddenly wakes up and we groan as our wounds protest movement. We have to turn our weapons on the officers to take out their guns as we headed toward the side of the building the party was facing, crashing through the window as the officers entered the room. I spied Detective Lance among the frontrunners. Oh, man...

Riding the line was painful, but necessary. That punch to the ribs hurt more than I thought it would or should. That, and I had other minor injuries. I rubbed my bruise tenderly as I got redressed in the party outfit. I grimaced as I remembered that my shoulder had been hit. Luckily, the healing process is faster than normal, and the bleeding's already stopped. The dress covered most of it. It could be just another scar, really. I prayed everyone was too drunk to notice that I had an extra cut on my arm. They should be. I hope.

The dress was on in minutes and we were back in the party. Chris took one look at me and frowned. I chuckled nervously.

"...It's nothing." I mumble. "Really."

"You're...well, okay, you're not currently bleeding, but it might be worse than it looks."

"Thanks to my neck, it is literally what it looks like." I reply, hoping I was vague enough to avoid any questions from bystanders. Apparently, no one had even heard me.

"You heal _that_ fast?"

"Yeah. It barely grazed me."

"What did?" Chris asks worriedly. Without cracking a smile, I tip the glass back.

"The bullet." Chris' eyes get wider than saucers and before he can answer, cranky-looking police officers enter and surround the perimeter and cover the exits and entrances. Fricking terrific.


End file.
